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MIDLANDS BUSINESS INSIDER www.midlandsbusinessinsider.com
™
VOL.29 NO.1 £10 JANUARY 2021
NINE LIVES
WATERWORLD’S MO CHAUDRY AND EIGHT OTHER BUSINESS LEADERS
TELL OF HOW THEY LANDED ON THEIR FEET DURING LOCKDOWN
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Businesses featured
in this issue
JANUARY 2021
AB Produce 28
Acclimatise 53*
Addo Food Group 53*
Advanced Medical Solutions Group 53#
Aeristech 53#
AEW 20 AGENDA
4
Air IT 53*
Airtech Controls 53#
4 Profile – Ideagen’s Ben Dorks: The chief executive of
Amazon, 20, 28 the super-acquisitive IT business on why it has such
Apollo Chemicals Group 53#
Arcadis 34 a hunger for buying businesses
Armitage Pet Care 53* 6 Vision 2021 – the economy: The world has altered
Aston Martin Lagonda 53#
Barrett 37 radically in the last 12 months – the coming year looks
Barwood Land 37
BHM Knitwear 53*
like one of major change too
Birds Bakery 7 7 My lockdown: In a special report Insider speaks to nine
Bombardier, 18
Bosch 15 business leaders who overcame the problems of the
British Land 20 pandemic and found new opportunities for 2021
Chase Distillery 53#
Clifton Packaging 7
Clowes
Codemasters
37
53#
DIGITAL + TECH
7
CoMech 7 15 5G: The great leveller that will put small businesses
CWB 53
Daimler 53# on an equal footing with big corporations
David Wilson Homes 37
Davidsons Homes 37
Derby County 53* MANUFACTURING
D-Risq 53#
Drummond Estate 37
20 Vision 2021 – manufacturing: Innovation and exports will be
Dukeshill Ham Company 53# the twin drivers of the revival of Midland manufacturing
East Midlands Demolition 53*
Experian 28
Fenflow
Frasers
53*
53*
LOGISTICS
Games Workshop 28 22 Vision 2021: The explosive growth of online retail will
Gazeley 20
GKN 18
drive further change in one of the region’s key industries
Hammond Estates 37
Holland Alexander 7
SKILLS
28
Homeserve 24
House of Fraser 53* 24 Vision 2021 – skills: Businesses say action is needed
Huub 48, 53*
Ideagen 4 to avoid a post-Covid skills crisis
Jaguar Land Rover 18
James and James 48
JCB 18 ECONOMIC REPORT
Jerroms 53#
John Pye & Sons 7 28 East Midlands Economy: The region sets out its stall to
Knights 53# create 84,000 jobs and boost its economy by £4.8bn
Kuhne + Nagel 28
LearnPlay Foundation 53# 30 Freeports survey: Almost half of Midland businesses
Leicester Tissue Company 53*
LEVC 18
say creating a freeport in the region will increase profits
Lindhurst 37 and jobs
Macildowie 7
Maltgrade 37
Mazak 15 PROPERTY
McAuliffe 34
41
Microtrading 53* 32 Vision 2021 – property: Quality, location, comfort and
MyWorkWear 7
National Grid 18
openness are no longer luxuries, but essentials
Nestle 28 34 Planning: The government wants a revolution in
48
Network Space. 20
Persimmon 37 planning. But are we in danger of losing control
Pharmaseal International 53* 37 Residential Property: A series of huge housing schemes
PPS 53
Raleigh Adhesive Coatings 53# are planned for the East Midlands. Where and when will
Reconomy 53#
Redrow Homes 34
they be built?
ReSource Mortgages 53 41 Midlands Residential Property Awards: The winners
Rolls-Royce 18, 25
Rutland Partners 53*
Segro 28 DEALS
Smartbox 53#
Sports Direct 53* 48 Vision 2021 – deals: A rush of business owners could
St Modwen 20
Staffline 53*
be on the verge of selling up. What’s driving the race
Starship 20 for the door?
Tamlite 7
Tarmac 18 53 Deal despatches: Who’s buying, who’s selling,
Taylor Wimpey 37 who’s advising?
The Access Group 53*
Timico 15
Tonik Energy
Toyota
53#
18
BULLRINGER/TRENT
UK Flooring Direct 53* 56 Gossip: All the printable gossip from our chaps
Uniper 28
Urban & Civic 37 about town
Very Group 28
Vodafone 15
Waterworld 7
Wattbike 48 MIDLANDS BUSINESS INSIDER – DIGITAL EDITION
Wavenet 53#
William Davis Homes 37 www.insidermedia.com/membership/app
X-Mist 53#
Key: * East Midlands only
#
West Midlands only
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Big-picture thinking
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Read it too quickly and you might miss it. There it is at the bottom of page 28 – the
Events director Lianne Reid East Midlands needs an elected mayor, say major regional politicians. To which, as
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DIGITAL – Editorial
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B en Dorks buys businesses,
in bulk. While some
bosses make a key acquisition
here, go for a niche strategic
takeover there, he prefers to
count his corporate purchases
by the score.
“We’ve made 19 acquisitions Ben Dorks
so far, and I want to carry on
making another three or four
“SURFING
each year,” says the chief
executive of Ideagen. “There’s
never been a better time to do
A WAVE OF
it: while most potential buyers
are waiting for the tide to come
back, we’re surfing this wave
of chaos because, frankly,
CHAOS”
we’ll never get bigger bang for
our buck than we will in times
like these. Give it another 18
months, when things have
picked up again, and it’ll be far Ideagen is on a growth mission
more difficult.”
Ideagen was born to buy.
The Nottingham-based IT “North Star” – is to be valued as one of the 1,000 Companies highly-regulated industries. It
business was created in 2011 as a £1bn business by 2023. to Inspire Britain, based on has 6,000 customers world-
by chairman David Hornsby as Ideagen is already halfway its turnover growth over three wide, including eight of Britain’s
a shell company with the ex- there, based on a turnover of years and by out-performing biggest accountancies, 180
press purpose of becoming a about £60-64m in 2020 and its peers. The company, hospitals, three quarters of the
major player in the information an EBITDA of around £18m: the based in Ruddington, near world’s largest pharma firms
management sector through a target is to hit £100m revenue Nottingham, specialises in the and “all the top aerospace and
series of acquisitions. in short order. regulatory and compliance defence companies”. Idea-
Listed on the AIM market Ideagen was recently named markets, handling IT issues in gen has grown to 600 staff,
in 2012, its strategy – its by the London Stock Exchange quality, safety audit and risk in about a tenth of whom are
4 | insider JANUARY 2021
Interview: Ben Dorks, Ideagen
AGENDA
IDEAGEN: A HISTORY OF ACQUISITIONS
“More than that, you want to
DATE ACQUISITION DEAL VALUE ride the momentum generated
09 Jan 2012 Proquis £3,240,000.00 by the acquisition process, to
17 Dec 2012 Plumtree Group £2,500,000.00 create change and challenges.
03 Jul 2013 MSS Management Systems Services £1,179,000.00 “If you can’t quickly and
20 Nov 2013 Pentana £3,050,000.00 fully integrate the technology,
the platforms, the people, you
25 Jun 2014 EIBS £1,550,000.00
end up with ghost cultures
13 Jan 2015 Gael £18,000,000.00
– individual silos and offices,
08 Aug 2016 Covalent Software £4,700,000.00 each with their own develop-
09 Dec 2016 IPI Solutions £7,020,000.00 ers, service teams, customers,
28 Apr 2017 Pleasetech £12,000,000.00 systems, agendas.
06 Apr 2018 Medforce Technologies £6,195,474.00 “Eventually they don’t work
for you: they work for their
05 Sep 2018 InspectionXpert £5,883,383.00
specific products but not the
28 Sep 2018 Morgan Kai Group £20,500,000.00
wider business. It becomes
14 Jan 2019 Scannell Solutions £3,500,000.00 organisational debt.”
10 Jun 2019 Redland Business Solutions £18,000,000.00 Dorks argues that accel-
11 Oct 2019 Optima Diagnostics £1,800,000.00 erated integration creates
06 Mar 2020 Workrite £6,800,000.00 opportunities for people within
the bought business: half of
10 Aug 2020 Qualsys £15,600,000.00
Ideagen’s senior directors
joined the group through
a series of small players: its last “You want to ride acquisitions – including Dorks
buy – Sheffield-based Qualsys himself who came on board in
– was a £15.6m purchase. That the momentum 2013 when his firm, Nottingham’s
followed notable acquisitions generated by the EIBS, was bought. He believes
such as Bromsgrove’s Redland that growing the business
based in the US – its biggest Business Solutions in mid-2019 acquisition process, quickly not only attracts
export market – and 60-odd for £18m, and Leeds’ Morgan to create change income, but talent. Indeed just
at a development hub in the Kai Group in 2018 for £20.5m. after our interview Ideagen
Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpa. In all, Ideagen has spent about and challenges.” announced it was creating 150
However, Ruddington remains £130m buying businesses Ben Dorks jobs in Ruddington in customer
the biggest office and centre of since it started on the acquisi- support, sales and marketing
chief executive, Ideagen
operations. tion trail by picking up Proquis functions.
“We’re looking at annual in 2011 for £3.2m. “Most people in businesses
growth of between 20 and 30 The motive for acquisitions programme is, Ideagen has we acquire stay – more than
per cent, achieving half of that is more than just accumulating already closed Qualsys’ half of our people have been
through acquisition and half turnover: it is also driven by Sheffield offices, and brought here for longer than two
organically,” says Dorks. “To give getting hold of new tech and its work, and people, down to years – they like the fact we’re
an idea of how far we’re come, breaking into new markets. The Ruddington. changing and will change
eight years ago the business business also stresses that Dorks proudly shows a again,” he says. “When we turn
was turning over just £2.3m, winning new clients through its 72-point framework, covering up at a business that’s going
and we didn’t break the £10m acquisitions is not a replacement all Ideagen’s functions, on to be integrated we tell their
figure until 2015. But that’s the for contracts falling off – Dorks how well it has been brought people ‘this is your chance to
way it has to be: if you’re not says the group’s recurring into the fold. For example a shine, to challenge the status
growing, you’re dead. revenue rate is about 95 per business bought in March was quo of what’s always been,
“It’s much easier to manage cent. wholly integrated by mid- because we are here with
a company that's growing One thing Dorks professes summer on all of Dorks’ points our ears wide open, listening
because you’re surrounded by himself fanatical about is the – people, brand, systems. to you’.
positivity which naturally gives quick and complete integration “Making an acquisition isn’t “There are individuals who
you more energy. When you’re of every business that Ideagen easy, but the really hard work want to continue working in
struggling, when every day acquires: “I don’t believe in comes in successfully integrat- that small company environ-
feels like swimming against the integration by osmosis: it has ing that business into the wider ment, be a big fish in a small
tide, it’s mentally and physically to be planned and executed organisation, because that’s pond. That’s fine, those people
exhausting.” quickly.” where you maximise its value, quickly leave. Here it’s a pacey
When Dorks talks about ac- To illustrate just how planned ensure a full return on capital,” momentum, and it's not for
quisitions this is not picking off and focused the integration says Dorks. everybody.” n
insider JANUARY 2021 | 5
VISION2021 ECONOMY
GROWTH
INJECTION
Robust Midlands will lead recovery
A year ago no one would have imagined the economy, the impact
the strength of the economy in
2021 would depend not on a Brexit deal,
from Covid being stronger
than the impact from Brexit.”
This would be a
major fillip for the gov-
ernment’s levelling up
but the success of a vaccine. However, Andrew Bailey, agenda. So too would be
But after 12 months of being ravaged governor of the Bank of a government-supported
by a global pandemic, that’s the position England, has warned a no-deal major battery factory – or
UK plc, along with the rest of the world’s Brexit will cause more damage to gigafactory – for the region.
economies, finds itself in. the economy than the pandemic. The fact that the region is
Unsurprisingly, the UK economy will see A no-deal would certainly hurt the less reliant on public trans-
a double-digit slump in 2020. But the fall is Midlands because of its port than other parts of the
expected to be around 11 per cent, when it reliance on the automotive sector country – not normally seen
could have been a lot, lot worse. and export market. as something to be proud of –
Third-quarter growth of 15 per cent and The good news is the region has has actually been an advantage
the very real prospect of a number of plenty in the pipeline to stimulate during the pandemic, says
highly effective vaccines being rolled out growth, with a much-needed post-Covid Hammond. “Around 80 per cent
by the spring have boost coming from of journeys are done on public
helped to end 2020 both Coventry City transport in London, compared with
on an upbeat note. “A recovery shaped of Culture 2021 and 30 per cent in Birmingham. In many
The new year will bring
like a ‘W’ with a the Birmingham ways London is going to be more
a strong but steady Commonwealth challenged for longer.”
recovery. swoosh. But with Games in 2022. But investment in public transport
However, we
pockets of really deep This will help the infrastructure forms a key part of the
shouldn’t get too excit- West Midlands regain government’s levelling up agenda.
ed. It’s likely to take at distress underneath.” a lot of lost economic The £83bn HS2 project, the
least two years before ground, with growth flagship policy of the levelling
Ian Stewart
the economy is back expected at 8.9 per up initiative, will have a more
Deloitte
to pre-Covid levels. cent in 2021 after positive impact on the Midlands
UK growth in 2021 is a fall of 10.6 per than any other region, say
predicted to hit anywhere between 7.2 per cent in the past 12 months, according to experts. However, speculation
cent (according to KPMG) and 4.4 per cent KPMG. Meanwhile, the East Midlands that the National Infrastructure
(Deloitte). could pick up by 8.6 per cent in 2021, Commission will recommend
The scale of such growth – two to three after shrinking by 10 per cent in 2020, the eastern leg of the scheme
times higher than the long-term trend – says KPMG. ends at East Midlands Parkway
will completely overshadow the impact of But KPMG is quick to point out these in south-west Nottinghamshire,
the 31 December Brexit, whether there’s levels of growth are dependent on instead of going on to Sheffield,
a deal or not, says Ian Stewart, Deloitte’s “a vaccine ending the pandemic by will be a major blow, local
chief economist. mid-2021”. politicians warn.
“We’re predicting a recovery that is One thing that drives growth is A final decision was due
shaped like a ‘W’ with a swoosh. investment, and the “promising” to be announced as Insider
But even if GDP levels remain steady there prospect of a partial relocation of the went to press. Whether it
will be pockets of really deep distress Ministry of Housing, Communities and marks another government
underneath that. Local Communities from London to U-turn could be key to the
“However, it could be that the post-Brexit Wolverhampton, says Matt Hammond, region’s growth in 2021 and the
period, on paper, looks a positive one for PWC’s Midlands chair. years ahead. n
6 | insider JANUARY 2021
My lockdown
AGENDA
A LIFT AFTER
LOCKDOWN
How Covid changed our businesses
T he past year has been by far the most challenging
period businesses have ever faced. Lockdowns
and trading restrictions have left companies reeling, and
many have gone to the wall. While most have
survived, many have thrived, thanks to their ability
to quickly adapt and a good dose of far-sighted
management.
Here, Insider speaks to nine businesses from a
range of sectors about their experiences during
2020, looking at how they coped, the changes they
made, what new opportunities they pursued and
how the past 12 months have changed their business
in the long term.
Holland Alexander:
The live events
company has felt
the full force of
lockdown
insider JANUARY 2021 | 7
THE PACKAGING
COMPANY
At a time when an invisible bug brought
the world to a standstill, preventing
contamination in our food supply has never
been as critical.
Clifton Packaging makes the air-tight
film and plastic containers which ensure
our groceries stay fresh, edible and – more
importantly than ever – safe.
The Leicester-based company specialises
in anti-bacterial film used to kill germs in
meat packaging, an innovation developed
way before most people had even heard of
coronavirus. We’ve always maintained a strong CSR Changing to survive is second nature to
Looking for a way to prevent chicken [corporate social responsibility] ethic.” the business, says Sheikh. “We’ve always
from being contaminated during Clifton’s work in the community ranges looked to adapt to change.
transportation and while on supermarket from delivering hot meals to the elderly to “Don’t wait for the government to fix
shelves, it developed a specialist film helping small startups make their mark. everything, because they won’t.
containing an antibacterial coating. “It’s about looking out for smaller And customers aren’t interested in your
“If you buy chicken you pick up a tray businesses and empowering them,” problems. They’re only interested in
with your hands. But that tray has says Sheikh. keeping their own factory running.”
bacteria on it,” says chairman Zed Sheikh. “We’ve really put our foot on the gas One of the biggest problems Clifton
“We supply the film on top of the when it comes to support work in the faced during lockdown was getting
packaging. It’s about eliminating as much community.” workers to its factory after bus services
bacteria as possible.” Sheikh and his family know a thing or were cut and employees were scared
Unsurprisingly, the family-owned two about starting from the bottom. Along about using public transport.
manufacturer has seen a surge in sales with thousands of other Asians, they were The business had to hire minibuses to
during the Covid crisis, a success it is expelled from Uganda in 1972 and came get their workforce to and from their shifts,
sharing with not only its 120 employees, to the UK with nothing. costing £1,200 per week.
but its community as well. Sheikh founded the business with his But, despite the extra expense, the
“Businesses have to take the lead in late brother Khalid, selling carrier bags. company has still seen profits grow and
community development during a crisis They moved to Leicester two years later, turnover rise by 10 per cent to £27m.
like this,” says Sheikh. “We’ve been going when younger brothers, Shahid and Tahir, Staff will be getting a bonus this year in
for 40 years after starting from zero. joined the growing enterprise. recognition of their dedication.
However, there are still many challenges
on the horizon to which they will need to
adapt, Brexit being one of them.
“When Brexit kicks in the dynamics will
change. It will initially take two weeks to
clear our imports at the seaports. That’s a
big concern because we get the majority
of our raw material from overseas.”
Another issue it will need to address is
a government plan to introduce a tax in
April 2022 on plastic packaging which
does not contain at least 30 per cent of
recycled materials.
Sheikh and his family have responded
in the only way they know – by looking to
the future.
Around £3m has been invested in a
new 96,000 sq ft factory near to its existing
56,000 sq ft site at Meridian Business
Park. The plant, which will serve two new
Zed Sheikh customers, will be equipped with high-tech
machinery and create 20 jobs.
8 | insider JANUARY 2021My lockdown
AGENDA
Mo Chaudry
THE LEISURE will come if we have a good brand: if
COMPANY we can do OK under the direst of
It was the year in which Waterworld was to “We haven’t wasted circumstances, then when the good times
have come of age. Some 21 years after these months by going arrive we’ll be ready.”
he had bought the then-loss making The other thing Chaudry says saw the
leisure attraction, Mo Chaudry was looking to sleep: we’ve continued business through lockdown was that he
forward to 2020, reaping the rewards of to focus on upgrading.” kept control of debts and has made a point
some £20m worth of investments and of owning the freeholds on his property.
hitting a £40m turnover for the first time. Mo Chaudry From the start he has focused on owning,
“It has been a complete write off,” he Waterworld rather than leasing, the properties his
admits. “I was expecting turnover to rise by businesses are based in. This meant he
a third and to make about £6-7m in profit, “Yes, you need process and procedure, was able to get a £6m bank loan to fund
but we'll be lucky to break even.” but you also need entrepreneurial flair. You the Waterworld development – up to then
Chaudry has been putting in a series need to duck and dive, to negotiate and the business had been debt-free for two
of investments in the Stoke-on-Trent drive ideas. But Covid and lockdown put decades.
based attraction, which claims to be North the last part of the development work back “I'm old school on this: I’m happiest
Staffordshire’s biggest tourist draw. Last six months, and meant the attraction was owning assets and freeholds,” he says. “If
year he installed four new water slides, open for just a few weeks over the summer Waterworld failed I’d at least have 12 acres
and was investing in the attraction’s gym, – its peak period – and operating under on the best land in North Staffordshire
indoor golf, restaurant and front of house, social distancing rules.” which, because a link road is happening
due to be completed in the spring. Yet despite it all, Chaudry is almost right in front of us, has become super
He bought the business in 1999 from uncannily upbeat about Waterworld’s pros- prime. I can see why a lot of businesses
Rank, when it was losing money for pects: it’s partly because of initial reaction don't what to be tied to freehold because
“something less” than the £3m asking in those few short weeks that the attraction they want to scale up to 200 facilities, but
price after being given just 24 hours to bid, was open, and an almost obsessively that’s left many of them stranded because
and reckons the group – which includes prudent attitude to risk. they can’t afford to pay big leases.
property – is worth about £50m thanks “When we re-opened Waterworld on 25 “I think in 2021 we're going to have
to some shrewd investments and a keen July we had five weeks left of the summer quite a boom in the leisure and hospitality
eye on costs. “It’s amazing what you can season,” he says. “We didn't know how industry. We haven't wasted these months
do if you if it’s your money on the line: people would react. I was so pleased by going to sleep: we've continued to
large corporates are driven by process and when we saw a gradual build up, building focus on upgrading.
procedures – it’s no one's personal liability, momentum to the point where we were “Next year we'll be back to where we
and they can pass the buck on. If it’s your only 20 per cent down on a record six were expecting and hopefully may even
pocket, it hurts,” says Chaudry. weeks the year before. It showed people go further.”
insider JANUARY 2021 | 9THE ONLINE back to the auctions and all the new goods, making the operation slick and
DISCOUNTER innovations. The previous record month highly profitable.
In the auction game it pays to act quickly was £400,000,” says Pye. As well as being the UK’s leading
and confidently – just as well for a The business was founded when Pye’s auction website, it is the world’s 48th most
company forced to change its entire father John started up an auction business viewed auction site, two places ahead of
business model almost overnight. in Nottingham’s Cattle Market in 1968 to the world-famous Sotheby’s.
Nottingham-based John Pye & Sons, offload goods which weren’t good enough But it’s not just Covid which is proving a
the UK’s largest auction network, had for his antique shop. boon. Big retailers in Europe wanting to get
been growing strongly on the back of The business, which counts John Lewis rid of excess stock before the end of the
an internet-only sales operation, which as a client, is still owned by Pye senior and Brexit transition period on 31 December
allowed punters to bid for a wide range of his wife Anne (Adam’s mother). But Adam have turned to Pye. These include Euro Car
cut-price end-of-line and returned goods. and his management team, which includes Parts, owner of Unipart. Pye recently sold
But when the pandemic made customers brother James, have run the business for 48 artic lorry loads of car parts on behalf of
unwilling to travel to collect goods, it had the past 11 years. Other customers include the customer in one go.
to introduce a delivery service for the DFS, Sofology and Dwell. This soaring activity means next year’s
500,000 products it sold each week. The business, which has 500 staff, turnover is expected to rise by 50 per cent
“We lost £1m during the first lockdown, has been compared to eBay, but without to £30m.
and realised we had to make key the consumer regulations. Buyers bid for However, it’s not all plain-sailing. The
changes very quickly,” says managing goods in the same way, but unlike eBay company is losing £100,000 each month
director Adam Pye. the bidding process doesn’t have a time by being unable to carry out its contract
“We offered a delivery service for all limit and ends when no one bids for three with the DVLA to sell vehicles seized for
our goods, and we implemented it in minutes. Because it’s an auction house having no taxation because of Covid.
three days.” and not a retailer, it’s a case of buyer Also, during the second lockdown it was
This, together with investment in new beware. This means the company doesn’t unable to operate in England, although it
technology, saw a near 50 per cent surge have to offer refunds on faulty or unwanted could still run its auctions in Scotland and
in its customer base, a 30 per cent jump in Wales, where it has 400,000 sq ft of show-
sales and its most profitable month ever. room space. The group has 22 showroom
The sharp drop in customers coming “We offered a delivery sites across the UK totalling 600,000 sq ft.
into its showrooms to view goods – which service for all our goods, “It’s important we match the innovation
range from end-of-line TVs and white in technology with having the physical
goods to jewellery and watches – ended and we implemented it presence to allow us to show the stock,”
up increasing productivity because staff in three days.” says Pye. “If you can’t display the stock
were freed up to put on more auctions. you’re not an auction business, but just
“In the first month we were back trading Adam Pye another retailer.”
in June we made nearly £700,000 profit John Pye & Sons
because of the thirst and desire to get THE EVENTS
ORGANISER
One day she was hosting an event for
thousands of delegates, then everything
suddenly stopped.
Lockdown devastated Louise Holland’s
events business, but she and her team
picked themselves up and embraced new
ways of working. The biggest innovation
has been doing more on digital platforms,
with the company now hosting a range of
online events.
These include everything from an
e-sport conference to virtual Christmas
parties for staff who work remotely.
“We had hosted a series of events in
Leicester at the end of January, where we
had 3,000 guests per day for five days,
and some were international travellers
from the Far East,” says Holland, managing
director of Leicester-based Holland
Adam Pye Alexander. “But so much was unknown
about Covid at that stage. Then things
10 | insider JANUARY 2021My lockdown
AGENDA
started to get serious around six weeks later.”
All the company’s projects were either Colin Lawson
cancelled or put into 2021, leaving the
team hunting around for alternatives.
“Meanwhile, your overheads and staffing
costs have to be paid. Furlough helped.
But there are other overheads you need
to deal with too. I moved us into a smaller
office and saved 80 per cent costs.
“We tried to be innovative to manage
our financial position, while at the same
time looking after our people. There was no
use in panicking. We had to be on the front
foot, making some good choices. Trying to
be really smart with what we did.
“We talked about what we could do
instead of what we couldn’t. It made us
less negative.”
Ensuring her staff, now all working from
home, were managing in their personal
as well as their professional lives was also
important.
“I allowed staff to work around their
family commitments, and allowed people “Anything that lights up, we’re involved in,”
to work less hours without less pay. “We talked about what says Lawson.
“You have to appreciate everyone’s orbit. The business’s other saving grace was
The pressure they were under to keep their we could do instead of the breadth of sectors it supplied – from
households going. I tried to make sure what we couldn’t. It school and transport to retail and con-
there were no phone calls from me outside struction – which meant it had not tied its
10am to 3pm.” made us less negative.” fortunes to any particular market: while it
Holland is optimistic about returning to Louise Holland supplies developers working on long-
in-person events next summer, but says Holland Alexander term projects, half of Tamlite’s sales are
digital will still play a significant role. wholesale – “a man in a white van being
“We have a festival in east London told on Monday morning that he needs to
which we’ve moved three times. It’s the returning we saw strengths we didn’t fit some lights in a school”.
UK’s first e-sport festival of its kind, which realise we had.” The company had to make sure it was
mixes industry and consumers. We’re The lighting group’s big strength was that on a secure financial footing so that as
hoping to have a lot of speakers from it had retained its British manufacturing markets came back it was able to build
New York and LA who can deliver their base. Whereas many other companies in up stock and bring sales people back.
speech via video. The upside of digital is its sector had outsourced production over- And there is plenty to go for: in the UK the
you’re able to secure a broader range of seas, the family-owned business was still lighting market is highly fragmented, with
speakers. proudly making kit in its sites in Tamworth the ten biggest manufacturers combined
“That digital acceleration was happening and Redditch, which meant it was able sharing less than a quarter of the £1.6bn
anyway because of the green agenda. to respond quickly as customer projects a year UK market. Tamlite still plans to
It was probably going to force us down this that had been put on hold during the early increase its turnover organically by half to
route anyway. One of the few wins to stages of the pandemic restarted. £75m by 2023, particularly with a push
come out of the pandemic is people “There was a real sense of urgency to towards the ‘specification’ market.
realising digital can be good for an event, get those jobs completed,” says Lawson. “We’re not out of the woods yet, and
and is not inferior.” “We were not waiting 15-16 weeks for we’re concerned that while we’ve got
products to be shipped in from the Far growth in the projects that were signed
THE MANUFACTURER East, but were quickly back up to pro- off a year ago, we don’t know about those
“It was a bit of serendipity – that bit of luck duction and able to supply some of the that were due to be signed off since the
every business needs,” says Colin Lawson, finished stock we’d built up, still in boxes. pandemic started – for example many
head of sales and marketing at Tamlite. It meant we could make and supply universities have had their capital
“We’d had a downturn as the pandemic hit equipment quickly when others couldn’t.” spending cut,” says Lawson. “Although
– April and May were a ghost town and we Tamlite, established 50 years ago, we’re doing OK now, and we’re in a good
were forced to furlough staff. But as soon has grown to become a £50m turnover position, we’re under no illusions that the
as construction and other sectors started business, employing about 250 people. next 12 months will be tough.”
insider JANUARY 2021 | 11Xxxxxxxxxxx
SECTION HEADER
THE SPECIALIST
SUPPLIER
“I think the low point was a letter from
Sadiq Khan about cutbacks at
Transport for London,” says Matt Pallett.
“In effect he was saying ‘thanks, good luck
and see you soon’.”
The mass closure of the Tube by the
London mayor in the early days of the
pandemic was a hard blow to CoMech,
which handles metal testing and calibration
on 90 per cent of the nation’s rail network.
Yet the lockdown brought the Derby-
based firm unexpected immediate, almost
counter-intuitive benefits. It led to it radically
rethinking the way it works and actively
embracing distance working, something
the managing director thinks could help
treble turnover over the next few years.
“Covid-19 had a really interesting impact
on our workflow,” says Pallett. “In the first
two months of lockdown we were really
busy, which was surprising because a lot
of our customers either closed down or
furloughed staff, and sent equipment to
calibrate to us.
“A lot of companies panicked and sent
staff home, so we stepped in to relieve the
stress. As time went on work slowed down,
then picked up. It’s now evening out.”
CoMech, founded 40 years ago by
Pallett’s father Keith, focuses on calibration,
asset management and selling products to
the rail industry.
It has been through a number of
James Taylor
transformations, starting as a provider
of metal testing services for the nuclear
industry before merging its operations with “It’s about having that We sent them to work from home with their
the ex-British rail calibration laboratories laptops and phones during the lockdown,
organisation Serco Rail, so becoming the culture of trust and and it’s been alright – we’re working well
UK rail industry’s only technical support flexibility. You need though Zoom, phone calls come through a
provider for measurement. virtual switchboard, so do we really need to
In addition to testing and calibration to adapt to the come into an office?
CoMech has an asset management tool situation quickly.” “We haven’t become any less productive,
that tells clients what equipment they have, we’re typically each saving two hours a
its repair and maintenance history, and James Taylor day in commuting, and if we need to meet
when it needs retesting and possibly retiring. Macildowie someone we can easily organise a get
Which leads nicely to the company’s together anywhere in the UK.”
latest venture – an online store run by The business currently turns over about
Pallet’s sister Zoe selling kit, such as fire £3.3m; Pallett wants to take that to £5m in THE RECRUITER
extinguishers and multimeters, to clients. the next 18 months and is aiming for £10m For James Taylor the biggest moment of
Now the business is looking at under- by the middle of the decade. panic came when the government closed
going another major transformation: having “We've only got a year’s lease left on down schools.
sent many staff to work from home during the offices, so it raises the question do “I realised we were going to have kids
lockdown, it is considering whether this we really need to renew it,” he adds. “The being at home while staff still had a job to
should be a permanent arrangement, 30-odd people in our testing facility do do,” says the chief executive of recruitment
and whether to reopen its head office on need to come in, but I’m not so sure about business Macildowie. Taylor told employees
Derby’s RTC Business Park at all. the 15 or do from the main office building. to prioritise looking after their children and
12 | insider JANUARY 2021My lockdown
AGENDA
trusted them to get their work done when over the past three years and we went and 3,000-4,000 views for an average
they could. into the Covid crisis after our best-ever LinkedIn post.”
“It’s about having that culture of trust financial year.” The company is expected to increase
and flexibility. MyWorkwear, the trading name for turnover from £1.3m to £2m next year, with
“As a manager you need to adapt to the JM Worthington & Co, was founded the aim of getting to £5m within the next
situation quickly otherwise you’re going to in 1976 by Worthington’s father Mike, two to three years.
be in a mess.” initially producing golf and cycle bags. The “We have a great team here, with a
Macildowie has a strong history of caring business developed when it won contracts really good work ethic,” says Worthington.
for its workforce. The company, which to produce bespoke clothing for Halfords “A few years ago the plan was to build the
specialises in HR, finance, procurement and a chain of car garages. business up and sell it on, but I’m now
and construction staff, came 23rd in The Worthington joined in 2000 with a enjoying it too much.”
Sunday Times Best Small Companies to strong IT background.
Work For in 2019 listing. In the same year it “The first thing I said to my dad was
also took home third place in the Midlands’ we had to get on the internet. We haven’t “The first thing I said to
Best Companies to Work For, among a looked back.”
75-strong list. During lockdown the company was my dad was we had to
The Nottingham-based company, initially forced to furlough all 15 of its staff. get on the internet. We
which has offices in Leicester and Then things started to pick up when it
Milton Keynes, was eventually forced to started supplying PPE and benefited from haven’t looked back.”
furlough three-quarters of its 80-strong a surge in shoppers looking to buy online James Worthington
team as lockdown began to bite. After the and avoid travelling into town centres.
MyWorkWear
restrictions eased Taylor came up with a Worthington’s appearance on ITV News
way of keeping the workforce connected, and an interview on Sky News of director
as well as keeping them fit. Ben Simpson also helped to boost the THE FOOD RETAIL CHAIN
He organised a weekly 10km walk website’s profile nationally. Birds Bakery has seen huge demand for
around the picturesque Swithland Water “From around August it went berserk,” its popular cakes and breads from
with up to six staff, allowing them to quiz says Worthington. “We have been locked down customers in need of some
him on the business, swap ideas and help swamped. We went from employing 15 comfort food.
recreate some of the office banter they people to 23, and we have three more The 101-year-old Derby-based chain,
were missing. people coming on board. which has 61 stores across the
Things are now looking up, with a 20 “We now have a twilight shift, and we’ve East Midlands, says while many of its
per cent month on month increase in been working weekends to meet demand.” shops had suffered from a drop in high
vacancies in October. Worthington says they have been street footfall, it had seen an uplift in its
Taylor has also used lockdown to helped by the fact two of its competitors delivery operation.
reposition the business to offer clients went bust, but says all the hard work and “Like most businesses the coronavirus
advice on not only recruitment of new staff, investment of the past few years put pandemic has been a challenging
but to retain existing ones. them in a great position to react time, as many of our shops
to the crisis. are located on the high street and
THE WORKWEAR “By becoming a digital city centres, so that has had
SUPPLIER business we were perfectly set some impact,” says sales and
“There’s been an element of luck. But for this. The website traffic has marketing director Mike Holling.
we’ve also worked very hard,” says James gone up by about 70 per cent. In “We’ve put procedures in
Worthington. October we were 65 per cent over place and are operating
The managing director of Telford-based our growth target. We’re tech savvy. our delivery
workwear supplier MyWorkWear is talking “As long as you communicate service and
about the fact his business has seen sales with your customer, telling our ring and
soar by 50 per cent after being “swamped” them about a delay, nine reserve
with orders over the past few months. times out of ten they’re service for
But the real hard work was done before happy with that. those who
the pandemic, starting when Worthington “We’ve worked very are unable
made the decision 20 years ago to take hard in the past cou- or don’t feel
the business totally online. ple of years getting comfortable
Then, three years ago, he closed the the business out leaving the
manufacturing division and outsourced there via social house.” n
production overseas, cutting costs and media. I get over
creating a much slicker operation. two million views
“It’s the best thing we ever did,” says per year on my
Worthington. “We have seen strong growth LinkedIn profile, James
Worthington©2020 EYGM Limited. All Rights Reserved. ED None. Can your private business come back stronger? :mad\af_ j]kada]f[] ^gj o`YlÌk f]pl Yf\ j]^jYeaf_ qgmj ^mlmj] ^gj o`YlÌk Z]qgf\& #COVID19 #PrivateBusiness
5G
DIGITAL + TECH
THE INTERNET
SPONSORED BY
OF EVERYWHERE
The hoaxers and conspiracy theorists are right to be concerned about 5G – it is going
to change the world... but for the better, and particularly for SMEs. The digital technology
is set to help change today’s business, and transform tomorrow’s
I t’s being heralded as the great leveller:
the development that will put small
businesses on an equal footing with
– ironic, as the region has been set as the
great example of how it can be used in
business and en-masse.
intelligence, autonomous vehicles and
remote surgery,” says Farrelly.
“The greatest long-term benefits of
international corporations. “Why is 5G But don’t underestimate its impact 5G will not be communications between
important? Because it allows SMEs to play from a low-key start: 5G is set to be a people, but between things, it will be the
with the big boys on a level playing field,” quiet revolution that will change everyday engine oil of improvement,” adds Adrian
says Paul Farrelly, enterprise business activities in scores of small ways, while at Baschnonga, lead analyst in global tele-
director at Timico, the Newark-based IT the same time often radically changing communications at EY. “Longer term, the
services firm. “It will enable them to buy the ways in which businesses work and implications and benefits could be huge.”
a technology that can radically change Most of these great changes will be
their business but without having to set up some time away. Before then we
complex systems of their own. “5G enables smart cities, will see 5G-enabled devices entering
“Put simply, 5G means the small engi- our lives and business quietly, making
artificial intelligence,
neering firm can have exactly the same improvements we are barely aware of but
capability as JLR.” autonomous vehicles opening up huge opportunities.
“5G could drive up national productivity, “There will be thousands of small ways
and remote surgery.”
an issue which has held our economy in which 5G will change people’s lives,
back for decades, by about 5 per cent,” Paul Farrelly such as sensors in bins controlling the
adds Mark Stansfeld, chairman of WM5G – Timico routes and timings of bin lorries, so we
the body tasked with overseeing never see bins overflowing,” says Dan
5G’s introduction to the Midlands and Pech, regional director at Vodafone. “We’ll
co-founder of telecom business giffgaff. interact with each other and the consumer. see millions of domestic devices meas-
“And SMEs may find adoption easier This is the tech that will, eventually, give uring utility usage in real-time, allowing
because they’re nimble.” us the self-driving car, machines that tell better use of energy and stopping flooding.
us they need repairing in advance, fridges “We need to be realistic about time
THE BACKGROUND that automatically order new groceries, frames and see this as an eight-year
Despite the elaborate hoaxes about it be- smart clothes that constantly check your journey: the 5G system is still being rolled
ing responsible for Covid-19 and concerns vital signs. out. While there are some immediate
about Chinese spies eavesdropping, 5G “What makes 5G exciting is that it’s not benefits to businesses it will still be two
has arrived rather quietly in the Midlands just mobile: it enables smart cities, artificial to three years before the network is fully
insider JANUARY 2021 | 155G
DIGITAL + TECH
SPONSORED BY
functioning, and maybe four to five years
before we see the real impacts on sectors
such as industry, but those changes will
eventually be profound.”
“5G can bring some immediate benefits
to businesses,” adds Baschnonga. “It can
help build resilience and get businesses
through the current crisis. The technology
helps them ‘pivot’ and adapt to a rapidly
changing economy. It is already supporting
remote working from being hit by network
outages because it’s a more robust
technology option. And it fundamentally
improves data transmission allowing flatter,
more robust architectures.”
Roll out has been delayed by the gov-
ernment’s controversial decision over the
summer to stop Huawei from providing the
equipment for the system – the Chinese
company is one of only three businesses
in the world that can provide the technology
needed for the 5G network.
However, the Midlands is doubly Mark Stansfeld
blessed when it comes to getting a head
start. Worcestershire was chosen by the thousands of pictures as it passes through And the technology is starting to spread
government as a national test bed for the their gut to detect any issues, beaming rapidly. Last month the University of War-
manufacturing possibilities of 5G. the images back to the lab. It is also exper- wick and BT launched the first 5G network
Meanwhile, the West Midlands conurbation imenting with real-time remote monitoring on a British university campus. And it will
was chosen as the first region-wide test of data like blood pressure, heart rates and soon be extended to “Silicon Spa” – as
bed – a giant Petri dish – for the technology. sugar levels among the elderly. Leamington Spa is often nicknamed
This has led to it trialling schemes in On the horizon are emergency ambu- because of its digital games companies.
healtchcare, such as domestic endoscopy lances live-streaming data from patients
services to tackle bowel cancer – patients to doctors in A&E, meaning medics are THE IMPACT ON BUSINESS
swallow a smart pill at home that takes ready to operate the moment they arrive. In the West Midlands there has been a
particular focus on getting SMEs to adopt
5G by literally allowing them to play with
it. WM5G has been setting up accelerator
units in Wolverhampton, Birmingham and
Coventry in which businesses can come to
experiment with the technology for free.
“The trick for SMEs should be to embrace
5G and then look at the possibilities in
terms of adoption, because SMEs will find
their own solutions after playing with it,”
says Stansfeld.
“What we’re driving is not the technology
but the business outcomes it can provide,”
adds Pech. “SME directors know their
businesses better than we ever could: our
job is to bounce ideas around with them
that have practical outcomes.”
The Midland case studies usually put
forward as examples of how early adopters
insider JANUARY 2021 | 17SPONSORED BY
can use 5G to get a business edge are collective “neat but so what” shrug among
the Worcester-based manufacturers Mazak “What we’re driving is most business leaders. But to speak to
and Bosch. pundits is to discover that real transforma-
Boiler-maker Bosch has been using 5G not the technology but tive possibilities are in other improvements
to experiment with predictive maintenance the business outcomes in the system.
– working out when its machines need The first is ultra-low latency – the speed
repairing before they go wrong. It is now it can provide.” at which a signal travels. Currently, digital
expanding its use of 5G to look at running Dan Pech signals travel at 20-50 milliseconds, too
autonomous vehicles in the factory. quick for humans to notice but still slow
Vodafone
Meanwhile Mazak, as part of its 5G enough to stop many potential applica-
experimentation, has been equipping its tions. However, 5G brings in speeds of
apprentices with microphones and THE TECHNOLOGY less than one millisecond – faster than
augmented reality (AR) glasses, which “It’s not that important to get obsessed the human brain interacts with its nerve
project extra data and images on objects about the tech behind 5G – it’s merely an endings. That allows technologies like
in the “real” world: it connects engineers enabler that allows businesses to come up autonomous vehicles, robotic surgery and
fixing machines in factories around the with new techniques. 5G fundamentally is a genuine Internet of Things to take place.
country to people sitting at computers in not a mobile technology – it is a business This, far more than the super-speeds,
Mazak's base in Worcester. It is especially solution,” says Farrelly. is the step that allows radical technical
useful for less experienced engineers Despite Farrelly’s claims about ignoring innovations to take place.
who might not be able to fix the problem the tech, understanding the potential The second improvement is separating
themselves and can transmit high-quality of 5G for SMEs involves a bit of insight into “the core”. Currently, whole swathes of the
video to more experienced ones who can what the system is and how it differs from telecom system have to be reshaped to
help out with a problem. existing mobile systems – 5G is allow new services and technology. That is
Mazak has also developed Smooth – not a souped-up version of 4G, it is a done away with by 5G: instead, business-
a technology that gathers and analyses technological transformation. es can create “microservices” – such as
factory floor data to make faster, better- “3G gave us texting and basic commu- specific digital communications between
informed decisions and increase output. nications, 4G gave us video on demand two machines – similar to the way they
It is now looking to a factory where every and fast data. 5G replaces superfast can develop an app for a smartphone.
aspect of production is connected and broadband,” he adds. “Its real impact is Suddenly, creating new services for 5G
analysed, with automated scheduling not people-to-people communications, becomes cheap, bespoke and accessible
and advanced digital simulations of but in the way it connects machines and – and it’s that which will allow SMEs to
components. objects. It allows the Internet of Things [IoT] develop solutions that currently only large
The University of Warwick will be using to occur.” corporates can create.
its new 5G network to experiment with The 4G system runs at about 100 The third major change is untethering,
autonomous pods – slow-moving self-driv- megabytes per second: a high-definition or freeing machines from cables. Unless
ing cars – allowing them to exchange live Hollywood blockbuster takes about ten a business buys an expensive bespoke
data, including information on obstacles to minutes to download on a good signal: internal system, currently any machines
make pedestrians safer. 5G lets users achieve that in perhaps needing high-speed communications must
ten seconds. This will probably lead to a use copper wires and fibre – they cannot
rely on wi-fi. These machines are effec-
tively tethered to the internet. However, 5G
allows machines to link via mobile – that
is they become untethered – on the same
site or even at some distance.
The fourth breakthrough is network
slicing. Parts of the 5G network can be
assigned for specific users or sectors,
so that when children pour out of school
at 3.30pm ambulances don’t suddenly
find their link with the hospital, giving that
critical information on a patient’s vital
signs, drops out. Similarly, network slicing
ensures a 5G-enabled robot forklift does
not go careering about into staff or into
stock because the network has become
overloaded.
The final revolution is that 5G can carry
5G tower
many more signals simultaneously.
18 | insider JANUARY 2021You can also read
