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November 20, 2019

Newable appoints two new managing directors to drive growth

Newable, the leading provider of money, advice, and space to SMEs, is delighted to announce the appointment of Peter Barrand as managing director of Newable Capital and Azim Hosein as managing director of Strategy and Acquisitions.

Newable Capital is Newable’s specialist investment arm, providing support to help profitable, well-established UK SMEs through their succession journey. Created early in 2019, Newable Capital has already screened nearly 350 investment opportunities and is looking to close multiple transactions over the coming months.

Formerly of PricewaterhouseCoopers, Peter joins Newable from Ignition Corporate Finance where he was a founding partner. Ignition is a highly successful London based corporate finance advisory firm focused on sell-side advice for UK SME private companies and MBO advice to private equity investors and management teams. The partnership’s expertise is in transactions less than £25m enterprise value across multiple sectors.

Meanwhile, the appoint of Azim Hosein as managing director of Strategy and Acquisitions comes as Newable looks to both the organic expansion of its existing businesses and also, through acquisition, the development of its platform offering to businesses working at the heart of the economy.

Azim joined Newable in September 2016 as head of Corporate Development. He obtained his ACA qualification at Deloitte and is a CFA charter holder. He has significant corporate development experience having worked on numerous M&A projects across a range of sectors including energy and consumer products. He joined from the Centrica Energy M&A team.

Chris Manson, Newable CEO, said “We are delighted to have Peter and Azim on board as we look to take our growth to the next level, underlining our ambitions to support and grow a significant and increasingly valuable portfolio of thriving businesses.”

“In the first nine months of activity, Newable Capital has generated a significant deal flow, while on the acquisitions side we have made a number of headline purchases recently including the flexible office provider Citibase, Newable’s largest single acquisition to date.”

November 20, 2019

UK SMEs face debt burden of £23.4bn

The UK SME late payment debt has risen to a staggering £23.4bn, up £10.4bn on the £13bn owed in 2018 – according to figures released by Pay.UK, which runs the Bacs Direct Credit and Direct Debit payment services.

On top of that, the research shows that UK SMEs are now facing a total bill of £4.4 billion a year, just to collect money they are owed, with around a quarter (22%) of those waiting on funds spending more than £500 a month chasing payments.

And the number of businesses experiencing overdue payments has hit 54 per cent among small to medium size companies; that’s the highest level since 2015, when the figure stood at 55 per cent.

The average late payment debt burden has also increased to £25,000 per company, up from just over £17,000 in 2018, with SMEs reporting that, on average, a debt burden of £35,000 could jeopardise their business.

Of those SMEs impacted by delayed payments, 63% say they have a negative effect on their businesses. More than a third (35%) are forced to rely on bank overdrafts, while almost a quarter (24%) say that being paid late forces them to hold off paying their own suppliers.

Paul Horlock, Pay.UK CEO, said: “It is concerning that so many smaller businesses are struggling because of late payments in 2019, especially as there are so many ways they can now get paid. Offering customers a choice of payment or automated options can help remove barriers to make sure a bill is settled on time.”

The research also reveals that 13% of SMEs experiencing late payments struggle to pay their business bills, 12% have difficulties paying their own staff on time, and 10% have to rely on invoice financing to draw cash into their businesses.

Other headline findings from the Pay.UK Late Payments research include:

• Eight out of ten private sector late payments are owed to SMEs by other SMEs

• 78% of SMEs say they are being forced to wait a month, or longer, beyond agreed payment terms before being paid

• Some 45% of SMEs say they are being kept waiting two months or more before being paid

• 24% of business owners say they take a cut in their own salaries just to keep cash inside their businesses.

November 20, 2019

Dun & Bradstreet partner with big data company Quantexa to tackle financial crime

Dun & Bradstreet and Quantexa have announced a new partnership that aims to empower businesses to make better, context driven decisions using innovative data and analytics to provide a detailed picture of connected relationships.

Global commercial data & analytics firm Dun & Bradstreet, and Quantexa, the contextual decision intelligence software and solutions company, have joined forces to help identify and tackle financial crime by providing market-leading data and network analytics to help firms stay compliant in today’s regulatory environment.

By connecting Dun & Bradstreet’s rich corporate insights data with Quantexa’s contextual decision intelligence platform, the partnership will enable an enhanced view of business relationships using machine learning and artificial intelligence to identify potential corrupt or fraudulent activity. This will unlock deeper insights for decision-making through next generation entity resolution and network analytics, increasing the effectiveness of customer due diligence and compliance with ‘Know Your Customer’ regulations.

Having a complete and transparent view of linkages between individuals and business entities is critical to help detect and prevent illicit activity, such as money laundering. Combining the power of data and network analytics will deliver more detailed context on business relationships to highlight potential risk and drive more accurate, cost effective and faster business decisions.

CEO of Quantexa, Vishal Marria said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Dun & Bradstreet, where our contextual decision intelligence technology combined with its commercial data solutions offers firms an unparalleled insight into their customer and supplier data. This is key to reducing risk in a world where unstructured data growth in businesses is unprecedented.”

Brian Alster, general manager of Third-Party Risk Management at Dun & Bradstreet, said: “The world is more inter-connected than ever and having a full and transparent picture of business relationships is critical to manage risk, identify opportunity and make better decisions. Bringing together our data and Quantexa’s network analytics provides a powerful tool to support compliance activities and accelerate growth.”

November 20, 2019

Recruitment company targeting £10m turnover with new funding

Bibby Financial Services (BFS) has provided a £800,000 funding facility to D&A Recruitment Ltd., an independent recruitment company specialising in a range of sectors across the UK.

Based in the East of England with offices in Cambridge, Bedford, Huntingdon & Essex, D&A Recruitment offer across-the-board recruitment services. The agency provides temporary and permanent placements and has contracts with companies including Hotel Chocolat.

Established in 2012, the business has successfully grown its turnover by 20% year on year, increasing from £400,000 seven years ago, to around £4.5m today.

The funding package structured by BFS’s Corporate team will boost D&A Recruitment’s working capital operations supporting its growth ambition of achieving a £10m turnover.

Tony Clampin, corporate manager at Bibby Financial Services, said:

“D&A have a strong track record of achieving year on year growth. We were pleased to be able to structure a facility that frees up their cashflow so Dan and the team can focus on managing day-to-day business and achieving their future growth targets.”

Dan Davis, managing director at D&A Recruitment, said:

“In recruitment, the average payment terms with customers range from 30-60 days. BFS’s funding provides the working capital we need to meet payments and grow the business. It was a pleasure to work with the Corporate team who understood our commercial needs and were able to structure a facility that supports our plans for continued growth.

November 20, 2019

Online retail sales rebound in October, but still lowest ever for that month

With the peak shopping season almost upon us, and winter temperatures finally setting in, retailers were given a much needed boost in October, with online sales growing by +6.2% Year-on-Year (YoY), according to the latest IMRG Capgemini Online Retail Index, which tracks the online sales performance of over 200 retailers. Though still behind the 5-year average of +10%, October’s results beat the 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month rolling averages (respectively +5.0%, +4.5%, +5.1%). That said, growth for the overall year is currently tracking at less than half that of the previous 12 months (+5% vs. +12%) so the victory may feel a little hollow. It was also the lowest growth for online sales in October ever.

Breaking down the results, October’s slightly more positive overall performance was mirrored in a number of categories, including clothing (+5.2%), beer, wine and spirits (+4.8%) and home (+13.6%). Clothing sales, in particular, sprang back from their first negative growth in over two years in September, to record the modest rise. There was also a small glimmer of hope for electrical retailers, who saw their steady plummet in sales slow to -10.5% YoY vs. -15.4% in September.

From a channel perspective, online only retailers had a far stronger month than their multichannel counterparts, with sales growth of +12.4% in comparison to just +4.3%. Meanwhile a rise in m-commerce (+15.2%) highlighted a similar divide in growth between smartphones (+50.8%) and tablets (-8.6%).

Andy Mulcahy, strategy and insight director, IMRG, said: “On the surface of it, online retail sales performance in October showed signs of improvement compared with how it has been doing in recent months. However, there are several signs in the data that the growth was in response to heavy discounting – the overall average basket value was down -21%, for clothing it was down -13%, while for electricals it was also down -21% and the revenue growth for that category was still negative.

The question now is whether this stronger growth is indicative of an improvement in shopper demand, or whether November sales will struggle as a result of volume being pulled forward. This happened in June this year, where sales growth was up +8.5%, the highest of the year, but this was as a result of discounting to stimulate that activity and July growth was the lowest ever for that month as a consequence. Retailers will be hoping that Black Friday falling later in the month, after payday, will help sustain shopper demand – but it seems far from certain.”

Bhavesh Unadkat, principal consultant in retail customer engagement, Capgemini, said: “October results provided a little relief for online growth figures, climbing back above average for the year so far, but it was also the lowest October growth on record, and a third lower than last year. Online only retailers did fare better. However, they also saw a higher differential in basket value suggesting greater discounting could be driving this as we start the slippery slope in the run up to the festive period, where online remains the go-to for deal seekers.

Discounting campaigns are a familiar call to action when retailers are running behind targets to kick start sales activity. However, we have seen that reliance on discounting earlier and earlier in the season dilutes the effect of the flash sale events, such as the adopted, then anticipated, now extended Black Friday Sales. Will this year be a washout as retailers struggle to capture shopper attention amongst a build-up of tactical discounting, or will shoppers release the purse strings as they look to get the most value for their money in an uncertain climate?”

November 20, 2019

The first stores to deliver on Christmas Day will have themselves a very merry £1bn Christmas

From ASOS to Amazon to Argos, many retailers were pushing their Christmas online order dates right up to Christmas Eve last year. But new research from home delivery expert ParcelHero reveals there is a significant demand for deliveries on Christmas Day itself: and 20% of shoppers would pay up to £5 extra for a December 25th delivery.

ParcelHero’s head of consumer research, David Jinks MILT, reveals: ‘Last year Brits spent £1bn online on Christmas Day. For the first time a number of online retailers reported taking more orders on Christmas Day than Boxing Day, the traditional start of the sales season. Several retailers actually kicked-off their sales on the 25th; but not one retailer actually delivers items on the big day.’

Observes David: ‘Already food delivery companies such as Uber Eats and Just Eats are offering Christmas Day deliveries; so the next obvious step is online same-day deliveries on the 25th itself. And nearly 20% of shoppers told us they would pay up to £5 extra for a Christmas Day delivery if it got them out of an embarrassing situation or enabled them to spend gift vouchers and get their items immediately.’

David says: ‘ParcelHero’s renowned Christmas deadlines tool gives all the major stores’ final order dates; some of which are as late as the 24th. But there are several good reasons why customers told us they would want the option of a Christmas Day delivery. For example, some respondents told us they had been presented with unexpected gifts on the day in the past, with nothing to hand over in return. How much embarrassment could be saved if they were able to say, “Yours is just about to arrive”? And several shoppers told us that their children had been left disappointed on Christmas Day because they had been bought the wrong toy or were forgotten by a relative. A same-day order would soon restore the Christmas spirit.’

And another big reason why Christmas orders would be a great emergency option, says David, is for that moment when you suddenly know you have bought your partner the wrong present. ‘It’s not a great feeling when your loved one has clearly spent a fortune on an incredibly thoughtful gift for you, but that last-minute kitchen blender and novelty jumper you bought them clearly left them distinctly underwhelmed. How great to be able to have a second chance on the day itself.

‘And, of course, we have all experienced the pang of Christmas Day disappointment ourselves; as hoped for items fail to materialise amongst the new socks and bath products, despite all the hints. Last year Brits were given £2.2bn of unwanted Christmas gifts, according to eBay. How great it would be to be able to spend your gift vouchers on something you actually want that would still arrive on the big day itself.’

But David says there is an elephant in the room when it comes to Christmas deliveries. ‘Who would want to be out delivering on the 25th? Changing retail customs on sensitive days is a delicate issue. When John Major’s Government introduced Sunday trading back in 1994 it was highly controversial, but consumers eventually embraced Sunday shopping; perhaps the same will hold true for Christmas Day deliveries? Not everyone in the UK takes part in Christian festivals, for example; while other distribution centre workers and drivers might be grateful to avoid reruns of Jingle All the Way and earn what would presumably be a significant bonus for delivering on Christmas Day itself.’

November 20, 2019

Salaries to increase 5.3% in 2020: Aon Malaysia 2019 Salary Increase & Total Compensation Measurement™ Survey

Salaries in Malaysia rose by 5.1% in 2019 and are expected to jump by 5.3% in 2020, according to the Malaysia 2019 Salary Increase & Total Compensation MeasurementTM Survey by Aon (NYSE: AON), a leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement, and health solutions.

These rates indicate that wages in Malaysia are increasing faster than those in Singapore (3.8%) and Thailand (4.9%) but slower than in Indonesia (7.4%). With annual inflation at 2.4%, Malaysians experienced an average growth of 2.7% in real wages in 2019, up from 2.1% the previous year.

In the face of a growing economy and steady salary increases, Malaysian businesses must evaluate their compensation packages, to ensure they can continue to attract and retain their most critical talent.

Analytical, strategic and specialist roles earned top dollar: app developers amongst the hottest jobs in Malaysia

According to the Aon survey, median pay for jobs in engineering and technology are relatively higher than all other job roles across the Malaysia market. Those working in engineering roles earn, on average, 14% higher and those in technology such as cyber security and information technology, earn 12% more than other job functions within the Malaysia market as a whole. Furthermore, fresh graduates in the engineering and high-tech job roles enjoyed a 16% higher starting median salary compared to fresh graduates in other functions. With digital and technological advancements, employers are paying a premium for talent in these areas.

The survey further revealed that median pay for software engineers/application developers increased by 17% from the previous year across various levels of seniority, demonstrating the continuing commitment of Malaysian employers to prepare for Industry 4.0.

Across all industries, senior legal managers earned 20% more than the market average, whereas compensation for senior business development managers / strategic planners was 22% higher than the market average, illustrating the premium employers place on professionals with specialist skill sets.

Rahul Chawla, director & head, Rewards Solutions, Malaysia, Aon, said: “The rewards landscape in Malaysia was very active in 2019. A volatile macroeconomic and geopolitical environment coupled with a pressing need to deliver efficiencies compelled businesses to revamp their rewards programmes. In the last 12 months, organisations have implemented incentive plans aimed at catalysing transformation and delivering shareholder value. Value creation for all stakeholders and value sharing amongst key contributors seems to be the mantra for the coming year”.

November 20, 2019

Manchester-based Volz Filters acquires with £500,000 funding from Santander

Manchester-based VOLZ Filters UK Ltd, a specialist manufacturer of air filter products for air conditioning, ventilation and painting applications, has secured a £500,000 funding package from Santander Business Banking to support the firm’s acquisition-led growth strategy. This latest acquisition is its fourth in the last two years and through its committed to a long-term partnership with Santander, intend to acquire further companies in the very near future.

Their latest acquisition; Midland Filter Products Ltd, located in Northampton is well-established manufacturer and distributor of associated products to that of the VOLZ Group. They are a producer of energy efficient air filters which improve air quality and reduce pollution. The firm specialises in air filtration solutions to remove harmful particulate matter from the air that we breath, delivering clean air in indoor environments. The firm has grown rapidly, in part, by offering free site surveys so clients get the optimum performance from its filters. This follows the acquisition of Swan Enviro Limited, 2019 – Kitchen Extract and Canopy Manufacture, M&W Precision Engineering Limited 2017 – a specialist toolmaking company and Pressed Parts Company Limited 2018 – a specialist precision press parts manufacture.

VOLZ Filters UK Ltd’s parent company, VOLZ Luftfilter GmbH & Co. KG, was established in 1966 in Germany by Manfred Volz and his wife Ella, with the UK arm set up in Manchester in 2006. The group now has over 700 employees and owns factories in Germany, Slovakia and the UK. In line with its growth-led expansion plan, VOLZ aims to acquire additional businesses in the UK on a select, long-term basis that complement its UK product and service proposition.

The £500,000 in funding from Santander Business Banking was instigated through the Business Banking Switch, an incentivised switching scheme launched in February 2019 to reward eligible Royal Bank of Scotland customers who switch their business current accounts to participating banks such as Santander. The scheme has been designed to provide offers that are better than those normally available on the market, such as cash incentives.

James Marsh, group finance director at VOLZ Filters UK Ltd, said: “We are delighted to be able to secure the acquisition of Midland Filter Products Ltd, and the funding from Santander has been central in helping us realise this exciting growth opportunity. Our aim is to continue to acquire businesses on a select basis which will support our current product suite and aspirations in the UK market.”

Danielle Simpson, relationship director at Santander Business Banking, said: “VOLZ Filters UK is right at the centre of the wider social and business drive for healthier working environments and clean air solutions and we are delighted to be supporting the Manchester team to expand its footprint in the UK. Santander Business Banking’s aim is to support growth-focused businesses to meet their aspirations through what we believe is the most competitive range of products and services in the SME sector.”

November 20, 2019

Tech savvy manufacturers set for £13bn boost as they cut out wholesalers and shops to sell direct to consumers

Entrepreneurial British manufacturers are expected to benefit from a massive £13bn boost as they increasingly cut out retailers and wholesalers and sell their products direct to consumers in one of the biggest shake-ups the industry has seen in generations, according to a new Barclays Corporate Banking Manufacturing report, Going direct: Is direct to consumer selling set to revolutionise the manufacturing sector?

The traditional model of selling goods via wholesalers and retailers is under pressure like never before, as companies embrace technology to sell and distribute their own goods via social media and the internet.

Nearly three out of four companies now sell direct to consumers (73%) and over the last five years, (DTC) sales have soared by 55%. DTC now accounts for 16% of all manufacturing sales in the UK, an in-depth industry survey of 500 manufacturing companies found.

Manufacturers who have invested in a DTC sales strategy said they had benefited from increased revenue (45%), growth in their customer base (38%) and increased speed to market (32%).

Sportswear giant Nike became the latest big brand to launch their own direct sales channel last year, ‘Nike Direct’, whereas start-ups such as Eve Mattresses and Harrys razors began as DTC brands and have now expanded into selling into shops.

The value of goods sold through DTC is forecast to continue to expand rapidly as both well-established global brands and start-ups invest in the potential around selling direct to customers.

Economic modelling commissioned by Barclays – which analysed current growth rates, customer demand and investment in DTC channels – estimates that value of the DTC market will boom to £13bn by 2025. Beyond the manufacturing sector, DTC activity could also provide a much needed boost to the wider UK economy by up to £32.5bn in the next five years.

Lee Collinson, head of manufacturing at Barclays, comments:

“The rise in businesses selling direct to customers is one of the biggest changes the manufacturing industry has seen in generations. As companies go it alone, bypassing wholesalers and retailers, they are increasingly embracing social media and digital channels to advertise and sell their products direct from the factory, and then managing the sales, distribution and after-care themselves.

“It’s a massive shift and the rewards are potentially huge, with nearly half of companies selling DTC reporting an increase in revenues as a result, along with a bigger customer base and the ability to personalise products.

“Wholesalers and retailers are aware of the challenge and will need to continue to find ways to adapt and flex their approach. DTC comes with its own challenges and requires investment in services, training and IT. The future is likely to involve a mix of DTC, wholesale and retail and there will still be a role for all three channels.”

The role of technology

Technology has been a key driver in the adoption of DTC with nearly all manufacturers (96%) now selling directly through their own websites. Social media is also of increasing importance to manufacturers with over three-quarters (79%) currently using or planning to sell via Facebook and nearly three-quarters (72%) currently using or planning to sell via Instagram. This comes as over half of manufacturers (58%) plan to digitalise their distribution processes in the next five years.

Disruption to the retail model

Manufacturers are increasingly confident about the potential DTC represents with almost three quarters (72%) agreeing that selling direct to consumers cuts out the middleman and is good news for both consumers and manufacturers.

Challenge to manufacturers going on their own

Adopting a DTC strategy does not come without its challenges. One in five (21%) companies said they had not launched a DTC channel because they feared the impact it would have on their relationship with wholesalers, with a similar number (19%) concerned about the response from retailers.

Businesses that also increase their responsibility for distributing products cite a number of new challenges with this approach, including building brand loyalty (41%), having increased responsibility for every touchpoint within the supply chain (32%) as well as managing customer interaction (31%).

November 19, 2019

TaxAssist Accountants continues impressive rate of growth

Six new franchisees plus one new staff member have recently graduated from the TaxAssist Accountants training course

Leonard Woodbridge (partner at Paignton), Raza Syed (Southall), Balaji Krishnamurthy (Bury West), Samir Gosrani (New Malden), Michael Sidon (staff member at Chiswick), Daniel Wu (Welling) and Mark Dhillon (partner at Shepherds Bush) are the latest to join the TaxAssist Accountants network.

Daniel Wu worked for 11 years in the Big 4 accountancy firms before deciding that he needed to make a positive change in his life. “I wanted to get out of corporate life, do something local and be part of my community,” explained Daniel.

“I searched for opportunities on the internet and nothing appealed to me until I came across TaxAssist Accountants. I decided to attend a Discovery Day in December 2017 to find out more. On the day, I was pleasantly surprised that people at the support centre were genuinely warm, welcoming and friendly. There was no hard sell about the business model. They were open, honest and transparent. I had the impression that TaxAssist is like a family run business where there is encouragement to grow and be successful. I knew that I had found the right place. There was no doubt that I wanted to join and start my business with TAA in a shop front.

“I did my research and gathered feedback from the existing franchisees. Every one of them that I spoke to was friendly and helpful. It was very apparent that they enjoyed working in their TaxAssist businesses and there were no regrets.”

Leonard Woodbridge decided to work for himself in 2005, building up a small client base and sub-contracting to a few chartered firms.

“After several years being extremely busy and not having much opportunity to think about it, I realised this business model was working very well for the firms I was sub-contracting to, but not so well for myself,” explained Leonard. “I was spending the majority of my time servicing clients for other firms, who were becoming more demanding. Spending the majority of my time out at clients also meant there wasn’t much time to build my own client base.

“I was aware of how time consuming it was to keep up to date with the work, legislative, technical changes and systems as well as undertaking marketing. Hence, rather intrigued, I came along to the Discovery Day in May this year. I really enjoy meeting people and helping them but I wanted somebody to help me with the operational side of things, this would enable me to develop and grow the business. The TaxAssist model fitted perfectly and thanks to the support office, this has already proved to be the right move for me as I go forward in the next stage of my journey!”.

Karl Sandall, chief executive director at The TaxAssist Group, said: “We are delighted to welcome another fantastic group of franchisees and staff to the network and look forward to helping and supporting them with all aspects of the running of their practices.

“This year has been very successful in terms of recruitment. We are currently running our last course of 2019 and we already have interest in our first course of 2020 which starts in February.”

If you would like more information about becoming part of the TaxAssist Accountants network, please call our Franchise Recruitment Manager Nikki Haythorne on 0800 0188297.

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