Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce

Issue: February 2010

Information Can Protect Your Business
Export Documentation: Getting It Right
Ring Fence Your Business Energy Costs
Living Well Great Offers For Chamber Members
Discount for Chamber Members at University Strategy Masterclass
Noise In The Workplace
Free IP Support For UK Businesses
Challenge Your Staff
Who Will Be The Best Of The Best In Local Business?
Grants Up For Grabs
Cooper Parry Finance News
Philharmonia Update
Business Link Help & Advice
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

Let the Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce protect your business. Using its position as part of a nationwide organisation containing approximately 100,000 UK businesses the Chamber has access to the best credit checking facilities to help your company. Its comprehensive status reports have proved very popular with many companies and contain a wide range of information to give you a better idea of who you are dealing with in the world of business. Recent changes include the inclusion of a written precis of the accounts for easier understanding by non-accountants. If you are unsure about the creditworthiness of a potential client or supplier it definitely makes sound business sense to find out as much as you can before signing up to any deal. The chamber’s status reports on all limited and many non-limited companies, both in the UK and abroad, can be emailed straight to you for your convenience.

For more details call Danny Whitehead on 0116 204 6613 or email leics@chamberofcommerce.co.uk.

Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce will be running a one day course on export documentation and how to get it right. The course will provide an understanding of the role of export administration and the documentary content and its significance.

The Exporter’s Commercial and Official Documentation will also be covered including:

The export quotation
The export invoice
The packing list
The EC certification of origin
The ABCC certificate of origin
Preference documents—EUR1s, invoice declarations and ATRs
Export licensing
Pre-inspection certificates

Transport documentation and payment considerations such as cargo insurance, payment methods, documentary collections and bills exchange, and L/Cs - introduction and typical documents - will also be covered.

The Export Documentation course will take place on 2nd March at the Chamber’s offices in Leicester and is priced at £195 plus vat for Chamber Members and £235 plus vat Standard.

For more details or to reserve your place please contact Joanne Christian on Tel: 0116 258 7322 or email: christian.j@chamberofcommerce.co.uk

Now is the time to ring fence your business energy costs. Electricity and gas prices are predicted to rise substantially in the next 10 years, potentially doubling in cost. Now is the time to start protecting your business by taking advantage of the free chamber energy service. See how you’ll benefit:

Utility Bills

Fix your prices for 1, 2 and 3 years and know your energy costs
Have your current utility bills audited for any incorrect charges
Contract validation, bill queries advice and help – all a hassle free service at no cost to you

Energy Efficiency

Ask about energy efficient solutions and funding – save even more

To discover how to save on energy costs for your business contact the Chamber on 0116 247 1800 or email leics@chamberofcommerce.co.uk

The Living Well Health Club at Hilton Leicester Hotel, Braunstone says there's never been a better time to join. You can receive a full membership from just £39 per month. The club’s current offer to Chamber members includes no joining fee and you can receive the first month of membership at half price, plus a meal for two in the hotel worth £50, 10 guest passes worth £100 and personal coaching sessions x 2 worth £50.

For further information contact the club on 0116 281 4112 or email: daniel.whitmore@hilton.com

OTHER NEWS

Managing Strategically in Turbulent Times is a one day Masterclass designed for aspiring strategic managers and those who have recently embarked on a career in strategic management.
The recent global economic downturn has challenged many of our traditional ways of thinking. How do we plan strategically when we face an unforeseeable future? Evidence suggests that organisations that survive the turbulence of a recession have a strong culture of thinking strategically and are able to adapt to changing conditions.

Benefits
By attending this Masterclass you will be in a stronger position to create more value for your own organisation; provide better value for money for your customers; and lift business performance to a higher and sustainable level.
Masterclass content
Using practical examples and group activities the Masterclass will focus on value based management and strategies designed to enhance and create value and will cover the following:

Thinking strategically
Evaluating the external environment
Evaluating an organisation’s capabilities
Strategy formulation
Strategy and performance

The workshop will be led by Peter Jackson who is Professor of Economics and Strategy at the University of Leicester. Peter has carried out extensive research on the subject of Strategy and has worked with many organisations that seek to improve their performance through strategic thinking.

This course will take place on Wednesday 10 March 2010 09:00 for 09:30 to 17:00 at the University of Leicester.

The cost would normally be £175 per delegate (includes all refreshments and any course materials) but Chamber members will be entitled to a special discounted rate of £125.

For more details or to book onto this event visit the Leading Edge part of the University of Leicester Website.

Noise is part of everyday life, but loud noise can permanently damage your hearing.
You and your employees are at risk if you can answer 'yes' to any of these questions about the noise where you and they work:

Is the noise intrusive - like a busy street, a vacuum cleaner or a crowded restaurant - for most of the working day?
Do you have to raise your voice to have a normal conversation when about 2 m apart for at least part of the day?
Do you use noisy powered tools or machinery for over half an hour a day?
Do you work in a noisy industry, e.g. construction, demolition or road repair; woodworking; plastics processing; engineering; textile manufacture; general fabrication; forging, pressing or stamping; paper or board making; canning or bottling; foundries; entertainment clubs, music industry etc.?
Are there noises because of impacts (e.g. hammering, drop forging, pneumatic impact tools etc), explosive sources such as cartridge-operated tools or detonators, or guns?
Do you have muffled hearing at the end of the day, even if it is better by the next morning?

Help your employer and employees to do what is needed to protect hearing. Make sure you use properly any noise control devices (e.g. noise enclosures) and follow any working methods that are put in place. Also attend hearing checks. Wear any hearing protection you are given. Wear it properly (you should be trained how to do this), and make sure you wear it all the time when you are doing noisy work and when you are in hearing protection areas. Taking it off even for a short while means that your hearing could still be damaged. Report any problems with your hearing protection or noise control devices straight away.

Health & Safety Executive leaflet INDG 362 Noise at Work is available to download free. For further information please telephone 01455 850000 or email qed@qdosconsulting.com

The IP Healthcheck online diagnostic tool was launched by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) to help innovators and business owners find out how to protect and exploit their brands, inventions, creativity and copyright and drive their businesses forward.

A recent survey of Healthcheck users found that nearly half of them had acted upon the information provided by the tool, with almost a third of these users then going on to file an application for a trade mark, patent or design.

Building on the success of the IP Healthcheck the IPO has developed two further free online diagnostic tools. They are:

Licensing Your Intellectual Property For Exploiting Your IP - developed in collaboration with the Business- to-Business licensing group.
Confidential Information To Keep Your IP Secure.

The Healthcheck tool available at www.ipo.gov.uk/iphealthcheck is free to use and offers advice on identifying, protecting and commercially exploiting IP. It also allows users to learn more about the different types of IP: trade marks, copyright works, patents, designs, design rights and confidential information, and establish in which of these areas they require support.

Million Makers is a national competition that challenges teams of employees, individuals, schools, universities and community groups to raise £1 million for The Prince’s Trust. The corporate challenge see teams compete to turn an initial investment of £1,500 into a profit of at least £10,000.

Million Makers combines skills development, networking opportunities and high energy fun whilst raising funds for a worthwhile cause, to create the feel good factor with a difference. A recent study by Hay Group shows that companies with a highly engaged workforce see measurable improvements in business outcomes.

Million Makers offers the opportunity for participants to turn their creative and entrepreneurial ideas into reality, using and developing skills that will stay with them long after the project finishes, whilst honing their business acumen.

Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce’s President-elect Rick Moore recently chose The Prince’s Trust as the beneficiary of the fund raising at the Chamber’s next Annual Lunch. The trust’s mission is to help young people across the East Midlands overcome barriers to help them change their lives.

Teams are being recruited for Million Makers throughout February, March and April with final teams having to be submitted by 14th May to start with a launch event on the 10th June. The challenge ends on January 11th 2011.

If you would like to put forward a team for this year’s competition then please contact Robert Dennett, Fundraising Manager at The Prince’s Trust, on 0116 204 5598 or email: robert.dennett@princes-trust.org.uk

This year marks seventeen years of the Leicestershire Business Awards (LBA) recognising and celebrating business success across our county. Twenty one companies eagerly await the announcement of the selected finalists, all hoping to join the ranks of over 100 winners, including Westleigh Developments, Mark Group, and Pall-Ex (UK) Ltd who since 1993 have enjoyed the unique benefits that awards victory can bring.

With the judges visits almost complete, the next stage is the glossy gala dinner on 23rd April. An audience of some 600 local business people are expected at the gala dinner, for which there are a limited number of dinner places remaining.

To be part of the celebration please contact Wow Effect Ltd on 0845 130 2866 or email info@woweffect.co.uk

The Leicestershire Rural Partnership (LRP) has announced the availability of £400,000 worth of funding to support businesses in Leicestershire's market towns and rural areas up to October 2012.

Building on the successes of the former Rural Business Support Programme and Market Towns Initiative, the INSPIRE Leicestershire programme will provide much needed support to help deliver the LRP’s economic priorities contained within the Leicestershire Rural Strategy, 2007-14. The programme is jointly funded by the East Midlands Development Agency (emda) and Leicestershire County Council.

A major element of the programme is the provision of grants direct to individual businesses. In total £400,000 of funding is available across 5 priority grant schemes. These include Shop Front Improvement Grant, Working Over the Shop (WOTS) Grant, Rural Redundant Buildings Grant, Rural Visitor Grant and Equestrian Development Grant.

Full details about this element of the INSPIRE programme, including the funding criteria, eligibility and application process, can be found on the LRP's Oakleaves website at www.oakleaves.org.uk/inspire

VAT Group Registrations And Non Trading Companies

The EC has started infringements proceedings against the UK (and 7 other member states) on the grounds that the inclusion of non trading companies in a VAT Group registration is not compatible with EC VAT law.

If this is upheld it will mean that non trading companies will have to be removed from existing VAT Groups which, depending on the circumstances, could impact badly on VAT recovery. It will also result in increased costs for those businesses involved in restructuring or a corporate finance deal where it is common practice to set up a VAT Group to allow VAT recovery on legal and professional fees. The proceedings are likely to take some time and as is usual in these cases any changes are unlikely to be retrospective.

Steve Taylor, VAT Senior Consultant at business advisers Cooper Parry, said: “People will need to consider the possible impact on their business and what can be done to prevent a VAT loss. The sooner they take advice, the better.”

The Philharmonia Orchestra will be celebrating Rachmaninov with pianist Nikolai Lugansky at the De Montfort Hall, Leicester on Wednesday 3 March at 7.30pm. Lugansky will perform Rachmaninov’s popular Second Piano Concerto which established his fame as a concerto composer. The final piece of the evening will be Shostakovich’s Ninth Symphony, a vivid and joyous piece intended to represent the greatness of the Russian people.

Click here for more information and booking details.

Click here for information on Corporate Partnerships with the Philharmonia.

The Philharmonia Orchestra is proud to be a member of Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce.

BUSINESS LINK HELP & ADVICE

With the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) warning companies they may face legal action unless they improve worker safety in 2010 the regional Business Link service has launched a dedicated information resource to help Leicestershire businesses understand their legal responsibilities for health and safety and how to introduce working practices that will help them meet minimum workplace standards.

Stephen Smith, Chief Executive of EMB Ltd - the organisation responsible for delivering the regional Business Link service - said: “We back the HSE campaign to raise awareness of local employers responsibilities to ensure workers are kept safe in 2010. Every employee has the right to return home from work safely, in one piece and without their health being harmed by their job.”

Business Link have dedicated resources freely available on their website www.businesslink.gov.uk/eastmidlands/healthandsafety to help local businesses easily locate the information and advice they need and what effective steps they can take in an attempt to help the East Midlands become a safer place to work. Business Link can be contacted on 0845 058 6644.

Businesses and individuals are being urged to support the10:10 campaign - an ambitious project launched to unite every sector of British society behind one simple idea: to work together to achieve a 10% cut in the UK’s carbon emissions in 2010.
The regional Business Link service is reminding businesses that there is free help and advice readily available to support those businesses wanting to find out how they can reduce energy consumption, increase their resource efficiency and boost their bottom line.

To find out more contact Business Link on 0845 058 6644 or visit www.businesslink.gov.uk/eastmidlands/resourceefficiency

For more information on the10:10 campaign, visit www.1010uk.org

CHAMBER EVENTS

Come and watch a great game of football with fellow footie fans from the world of local business, thanks to the Chamber’s Football Networking Club, in association with Leicester City Football Club. The Fusions Restaurant at LCFC is the perfect place to enjoy good food before watching the match from luxury padded seats. Why not entertain your valued or prospective clients and use this as a corporate hospitality opportunity? Tickets are priced at £35 per person, per game and include food, interval tea and coffee and complimentary parking dependent on the number of tickets purchased. Football Networking Club events for the next few months include the following matches:

13 Mar Cardiff City
21 Mar Coventry City
23 Mar Reading
5 Apr QPR

Sponsored by Ruth Ingman Limited
Dates: 15 February and 15 March
Venue: Express by Holiday Inn, Leicester
Time: 12:30pm – 2pm
Cost: £15 plus VAT per person
Integra, officially launched in November 1995, is Leicestershire Chamber’s association of women in business, and invites you to participate in a wonderful networking opportunity with these regular lunchtime meetings.

Date: 17 February
Venue: Chamber Offices, New Walk, Leicester
Time: 9.30am - 4.30pm
Cost: £175 plus VAT

Public speaking is an art, but it is also a skill. This workshop, in association with Iliffe Consulting, will cover how to capture your audience in the first 10 seconds, how to structure your speech to get the right message across, handling question and answer sessions, body language, voice projection and coping with nerves.

Date: 2 March
Venue: Chamber Offices, New Walk, Leicester
Time: 9.30am – 4.30pm
Cost: Chamber Members £195 plus VAT / Standard £235 plus VAT

Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce will be running a one day programme on export documentation and how to get it right. The course will provide an understanding of the role of the export administration and the documentary content and its significance.
The Exporter’s Commercial and Official Documentation will be covered along with transport documentation and payment considerations such as cargo insurance, payment methods, documentary collections and bills exchange, and L/Cs - introduction and typical documents.

Date: 4 March
Venue: Holiday Inn Rugby, Junction 18 off of M1
Time: 11.45am – 2.30pm
Cost: Chamber Members only, £25 plus VAT
Price includes a 3 course meal.

This joint event is being hosted by Leicestershire and Northamptonshire Chambers of Commerce and will give businesses from both counties an excellent opportunity to network and exchange company literature with fellow attendees over a 3 course lunchtime meal. Looking for new contacts? Wanting to raise your business profile? Need to identify new, competitive suppliers? Then don’t miss this event.

This lunch is specifically designed to encourage inter-trading amongst members. If you are keen to promote your organisation in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire then come along and tell your fellow diners about your products or services in this organised but relaxed environment.

Sponsored by Maggie Robinson of M Powered Coaching.
Date: 12 April, 10 May, 7 June
Venue: Leicester Marriott Hotel, Enderby
Time: 12:30pm – 2pm
Cost: £15 plus VAT per person
Integra, officially launched in November 1995, is Leicestershire Chamber’s association of women in business, and invites you to participate in a wonderful networking opportunity with these regular lunchtime meetings.

Date: 12 May
Venue: Phoenix Square Film & Digital Media, Leicester
Time: 5:30pm - 8:30pm
Cost: £38 including VAT
Join us at the new Phoenix Digital Media Centre for an evening with a difference - in your own private cinema watching an exclusive viewing of a film chosen especially for the occasion. The package for the evening will include welcome drink on arrival, buffet food and the opportunity to network with fellow Integra members. Set in the heart of Leicester's Cultural Quarter, Phoenix Square showcases the very best in cinema and digital entertainment in the East Midlands.

Venue: Devonshire Place, 78 London Road, Leicester
Time: 08:00am - 10:00am
Cost: £22.00 Members Only

Come and network over breakfast with fellow Chamber members.
Looking for new contacts?
Want to raise your business profile?
Then bring along your business cards and join us on 21 April for this speed networking event, which aims to bring together the business Community to enjoy networking opportunities with a full English breakfast in the comfortable surroundings of Devonshire Place.

Date: 18 May
Venue: Imago, Holywell Park, Loughborough
Time: 10am - 3pm
Cost: £50 Stand Space / £35 for Loughborough Chamber of Trade &
Commerce & LATI members, by prior arrangement only
Delegates free to attend. Tea, coffee and buffet food will be provided

A great opportunity in these uncertain times for you to showcase, market and sell your business at this free event - organised jointly by the Loughborough Chamber of Trade & Commerce and LATI. The chance to exhibit, network, make new contacts, find out new information, as well as Meet the Buyer and local supplier opportunities. Free information sessions on marketing and energy saving. Real help for businesses now….can you afford not to be there?

In association with Crimestoppers Leicestershire & Rutland
Date: 19 May
Venue: Kirby Muxloe Golf Club, Kirby Muxloe, Leicester
Time: Tee off from 8.30am – 18 holes
Cost: Chamber Members £49.50 / Standard £59.50

This year’s corporate golf day will include not only a superb day on the golf course but also breakfast and lunch along with great networking opportunities. Players will be arranged into teams of four with a chance to win individual and team prizes, sponsored by QDOS Consulting and Sturgess Motor Group.

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