Fastest 50 Awards 2015 - Techflow Marine...Graeme said businesses in the Fast - est 50 were the real...

Newcastle | Leeds | Manchester

Fastest 50 Awards 2015

www.wardhadaway.com @WardHadaway #Fastest50NE

20-page commercial supplement

TECHFLOW Marine kept it in the family to win two trophies at the 2015 Ward Hadaway

Fastest 50 Awards.The Cramlington-based company

won the award for fastest growing North East business for 2015, as well as being named the fastest growing large business in the region.

The offshore oil, gas and marine specialist followed in the footsteps of its sister company, Techflow Flexi-bles, which was named fastest grow-ing large business in the 2014 Ward Hadaway Fastest 50, to make it a remarkable record of success.

Ken Beattie, sales director at Tech-flow Marine, said: “It was a great sur-prise to win. In these difficult times,

we are very pleased to have increased our turnover so much and we look forward to c o n t i n u a l l y growing the company and d e v e l o p i n g into even more of a world force.

“We have really commit-ted staff, a skilled work-force and a determination to succeed.

Exports are also key to us – we have to work hard abroad and we can’t just rely on work in the UK.”

Techflow Marine provides a range of specialist products to the global offshore oil and gas and marine industries, particularly fluid transfer systems.

As well as the company’s Cramling-ton head office, Techflow Marine also has manufacturing facilities in Singa-pore and engages sub-contractors in China, Korea and the USA.

The company received its awards at a ceremony at BALTIC, the Centre for Contemporary Art, in Gateshead.

Techflow Marine fought off compe-tition from County Durham wine spe-cialist Lanchester Wines and Darling-ton-based hazard protection equipment maker Mech-Tool Engi-neering to win the fastest growing large business award, for companies with annual turnover of more than £15m.

The other winners at the Ward Hadaway Fastest 50 Awards for 2015 were Gateshead-based Mediaworks and SITS Group of Cramlington.

Mediaworks pipped two care home operators – Popular Care and Moth-erdale Limited – to be named the fast-est growing small business of 2015, for companies with annual turnover of between £1m and £5m. Media-

works was founded in 2007 and has grown from a small internet search company to a multi-site online mar-keting firm, with clients including GlaxoSmithKline, Scottish Power and House of Fraser.

SITS Group was named the fastest growing medium-sized business of 2015, for companies with turnover of between £5m and £15m, ahead of second placed Blaydon-based asbes-

tos consultancy Lucion Environmen-tal and third placed marine and off-shore oil and gas fabrication specialist Marine Fabricators, from Stockton.

SITS Group specialises in providing cloud computing services to some of the leading companies across the region and the country. It supplies a wide range of services, including vir-tual desktops, business continuity and data centre facilities.

The winning companies were revealed before an audience of over 250 business leaders and representa-tives of the Fastest 50 companies at the Riverside Terrace at BALTIC.

Ed Cox, director of influential eco-nomic think tank IPPR North, was the keynote speaker at the event, which has been held every year since 1998.

Ed talked about the strength and resilience of the economy in the North, pointing out it makes up one fifth of the national economy, and appealed to businesses in the North East to make sure the region’s voice was heard loud and clear in the Northern Powerhouse debate.

Ed said: “It is not for government or Manchester or anywhere else to say whether the North East is or isn’t included. We need to be bold and confident and say ‘we are in the Northern Powerhouse’.

“I also think that business leader-ship is critical. I think businesses sometimes need to knock political heads together to ensure that the devolution deals really work. You know that markets don’t stop at par-ticular boundaries and political lead-ers need to recognise that.”

The Fastest 50 is organised by lead-ing North law firm Ward Hadaway

and supported by The Journal. Colin Hewitt, partner and head of commer-cial at Ward Hadaway, said: “I am delighted to say that, once more, the Ward Hadaway Fastest 50 has suc-ceeded in highlighting all that is best about North East business.

“Our three winners and indeed every company in the 2015 list have demonstrated the aptitude, flair and sheer hard work which make this region such a great place to do busi-ness.

“As an event, the Ward Hadaway Fastest 50 continues to go from strength to strength, with a record number of guests attending this year’s awards, reinforcing its position as one of the key events in the North East business calendar.”

Graeme Whitfield, business editor of The Journal, introduced the awards, which reward profit-making private-ly-owned companies and organisa-tions in the region which have shown the strongest annualised sales growth over recent years.

Graeme said businesses in the Fast-est 50 were “the real Northern Power-house”, and outlined the work which The Journal’s Let’s Grow fund has done in supporting businesses and creating jobs in the region.

Techflow Marine triumphs in 2015 Ward Hadaway Fastest 50

We have really committed staff, a skilled workforce

Ken Beattie

Ken Beattie, sales director at Techflow Marine, celebrates the company’s victories in the 2015 Ward Hadaway Fastest 50 Awards >

2 THE JOURNAL WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2015

Fastest growing small business: Mediaworks, GatesheadRunners-up: Motherdale Limited, Castle Eden (2nd); Popular Care, Newcastle (3rd)

Fastest growing medium-sized business: SITS Group, CramlingtonRunners-up: Lucion Environmental, Blaydon (2nd); Marine Fabricators, Stockton (3rd)

Fastest growing large business and overall winner: Techflow Marine, CramlingtonRunners-up: Lanchester Wines, Consett (2nd); Mech-Tool Engineering, Darlington (3rd)

The FasTesT 50 winners For 2015

THE JOURNAL WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2015 3

WELCOME to the Ward Hada-way Fastest 50 for 2015 – a celebration of all that is best

about business endeavour in the North East.

One of the most pleasing things about the Fastest 50 since its founda-tion in 1998 has been its ability to bring to the fore many companies whose efforts and achievements have previ-ously largely slipped under the radar.

Whilst deservedly proud of their successes, it is the case that these busi-nesses have not actively sought acclaim but simply got on with the job.

I believe there is a lot which we can all learn from this. Buckling down and getting on with things is, in my view,

an under-rated quality. It is one which has served the North East well in the past and has the potential to do so in the future.

There is certainly nothing wrong in speaking up with a united voice on issues which affect the region as a whole, such as ensuring the North East

is properly taken account of by Gov-ernment when it comes to initiatives like the Northern Powerhouse. We cer-tainly deserve our fair share of resourc-es and attention in that respect if the current administration is really serious about maximising the potential of the North’s economies.

However, there is a danger that this becomes a reflex action to every prob-lem which we encounter; that we blame outside influences and powers when the potential to tackle issues starts with ourselves.

Central Government does have a lot of say in our lives – potentially less so if applications for more devolved powers are granted – but it does not rule them. So, before we start putting the blame at and seeking the solutions from White-hall’s door, we should look for the answers a little closer to home. For

example, skills shortages are cited in many surveys as one of the biggest issues facing businesses with employ-ers saying they simply cannot find enough of the right people to do the right jobs.

In my view, it is not so much the case of skills shortages, more the case of a skills gap which business has to play its part in bridging. Many busi-nesses are, of course, actively engaged in developing their workforces and working with training providers, but sadly many are not.

At the bottom line, all businesses simply have to engage more. It is no good complaining about things unless you are prepared to do something to change the situation. Businesses have to shoulder their share of the burden by doing things such as paying for workplace training, arranging training, co-operating with providers and putting together programmes which work for them and for the people in which they are investing.

While it is a fact that Government cuts have put a severe strain on the fur-ther education sector, we have some of the finest colleges in the country here in the North East, as well as one of the largest, and they stand willing and able to play their part in helping to develop the skills and the careers of the region’s workforce. On a positive note, FE Col-leges are already working with many businesses direct, with business input to the curriculum.

We are also highly fortunate to have world-class universities in the North East. All five of our universities have

programmes to either engage more with businesses via knowledge trans-fer, to help nurture early-stage and start-up companies founded by under-graduates or recent graduates and to develop the commercial potential of their research via spin-out companies.

Our universities are very far from the cut-off ‘ivory tower’ image which some people have of academia and, along with our further education colleges, providing vocational training together with specific initiatives such as NCG’s Rail Academy, Aviation Academy and Energy Academy, and together with the University Technical colleges in the region, they represent a tremendous resource for the region’s businesses as well as generating economic returns in their own right.

Businesses would also do well to engage with more schools; to outline the opportunities available to young people and the careers to which they can aspire. Whilst schools can be hard-pressed in accommodating the various demands of the National Curriculum, many would welcome more input from local companies and the efforts of organisations such as Schools NorthEast and campaigns like The Journal’s Let’s Work Together initiative are making real progress on this front.

No one is saying the problem can be solved overnight, however. There is much we can do ourselves to help boost the aspirations of our young peo-ple, improve our workforce’s skills lev-els and, ultimately, help create more success stories such as those found in the Fastest 50.

By Jamie Martin, Managing Partner at Ward Hadaway and Chairman of NCG

Showcasing the success stories of our rising firms

Jamie Martin >


NORTH EAST

Congratulations to the winners of the 2015 Fastest 50 Awards and all those who featured in the list.

For over 25 years we have been helping businesses in our region grow and succeed.

Contact us to find out how we could help you make the list of Fastest 50 North East businesses next year.

www.wardhadaway.com

#Fastest50NE@WardHadaway


Julie Harrison >

GROWING businesses, such as those found in the Ward Hada-way Fastest 50, need access to

funding to help support their expan-sion.

It has been a busy year for the Banking and Finance Team at Ward Hadaway. At the end of 2014 we were named as the Legal 500 Finance: Regional Firm of the year. We were up against some tough competition from around the country and we were delighted to win against some of the national firms in Manchester and Leeds. This award shows the level and range of funding work being under-taken in the North East and the Bank-ing and Finance Team at Ward Hada-way invests a lot of time in speaking to funders and understanding the funding market in the region.

What we have seen is that funding for businesses seems to be in a con-stant state of flux, whether it be the source, the type of funding or the reg-ulation of the providers of funding. There are historic names returning to the funding scene and new ones entering into it, both with new prod-ucts.

Some of these historic names and new names arise from the reform of the European and UK banking sector since 2009. As a result of the receipt of government funding, Lloyds has been required to transfer part of its business to TSB and Royal Bank of Scotland has been required to move

part of its business to Williams & Glyn. TSB is already noticeable on our high streets and Williams & Glyns will be launched in April next year.

There will be more names emerg-ing and changes to come as the Bank-ing Reform Act looks to separate core banking services from wholesale banking and investment services, with a view to reducing the risk to which the banks providing these essential services are open. Separa-tion of these businesses needs to be completed by the end of 2018.

We are also seeing a lot in the news regarding crowd funding and peer-to-peer lending. Crowd funding in its broadest sense is a way that business-es and organisations can raise money through online platforms.

There are different forms of crowd funding, it can be based on donations where there is no expectation of any return; it can be a prepayment or rewards based, where people give money to receive a reward, service or product (for example, Naked Wines, money is invested in small wine pro-ducers and the investors get wine at wholesale prices); loan-based, where people lend money to individuals or to businesses in the hope that they will receive a return in the form of interest payments from the borrower as well as the return of the capital; or investment-based, where people invest directly or indirectly in the business by buying shares or debt securities, or units in an unregulated collective investment scheme.

Crowd funding has been the sub-ject of a consultation process and a

report by the Financial Conduct Authority. This has resulted in legis-lation to regulate certain types of crowd funding to try to provide great-er confidence in this type of funding and make it a more credible alterna-tive to banks and other conventional funding sources. This regulation is being brought in as it is important that people investing on these plat-forms understand the risks involved, realise that there is a possibility that loans may not be repaid and many start-up businesses fail.

These regulations will also protect against conflicts of interest, where the platform provider could downplay risks and over-emphasise potential returns and the risk of platform fail-ure or poor administration. The level of regulation is based on the type of crowd funding product with full

authorisation being required by April 2016.

Looking at the major UK banks, as the Bank of England reports, they have improved their capital and fund-ing positions and there is more money in the market to allow more funding to be provided.

The Credit Conditions Survey shows more credit being available in Q2 of 2015 following significant improvements in the past few years. It is noticeable that margins for fund-ing from the banks have fallen and the Ward Hadaway team have been involved in a number of refinances where borrowers have taken advan-tage of these falls and, as a result, have significantly reduced their fund-ing costs.

The banks are also launching new products to support fast growing businesses and are investing in new technology to make their operations more efficient and to meet the chang-es of today’s market.

The Bank of England reports that in the first half of 2015 private non-financial companies raised funding of over £11billion, the largest amount since 2009. There is not much detail of how much of this was in the North East but from the activity we have seen a reasonable proportion.

The £142m Finance for Business North East Fund has played a major part in giving a whole range of differ-ent companies access to funding in the North East over the past five years.

The seven separate funds of which the Fund is comprised have done an excellent job in getting money out

into the region’s business community and distributing it across a broad spectrum of sectors to companies at various stages of development.

We are now seeing some of the smaller companies which initially received finance starting to mature and grow as business entities, in turn attracting backing from mainstream banks, which is a great testament to the work which the various funds have carried out.

The funds’ closeness to the region’s business community and their excel-lent working knowledge of it has been crucial to their success.

It is therefore worrying to hear of plans that the successor ‘JEREMIE 2’ will be a ‘Northern Powerhouse’ fund to provide investment across the North West, Yorkshire and the North East and run from Sheffield.

Setting up a fund based outside the region with new rules and regulations will not only take time to get used to, potentially causing a hiatus in the local funding market but there is a real concern that investment in our regional businesses may be reduced and local expertise and relationships diminished.

Where all this will end up is diffi-cult to predict but the old adage that change is a constant is certainly the case with funding in today’s business world.

For more information on the ■issues raised by this article, contact Julie Harrison at [email protected] or on 0191 204 4221.

By Julie Harrison, Partner and Head of Banking and Finance at Ward Hadaway

The shifting landscape of funding

What we have seen is that funding for businesses seems to be in a constant state of flux, whether it be the source, the type of funding or the regulation of the providers of funding.


Prince Bishops Homes provides step up onto property ladderGettinG a foot on the property ladder is an ambition for many people – but with deposits for mortgages still high following the credit crunch, buying a home may still seem out of reach.

now a north east housing com-pany is offering an innovative new scheme, which it believes will help local people achieve their dream of home ownership.

Prince Bishops Homes owns around 400 new properties for market rent across the region and runs an innovative ‘Moving on up’ scheme, which allows tenants to buy their home after four years of renting.

Any increase in the property value over this period is shared between Prince Bishops Homes and the tenant, which can then be used as a deposit for a mortgage.

There are no upfront fees or long-term commitments and ten-ants do not have to buy if they do not wish to – they can simply con-tinue to rent.

in recognition of its forward- thinking approach and ambitious plans for future growth, Prince Bishops Homes has now been included in the Ward Hadaway Fastest 50 for 2015 list.

Chief executive Keith tallintire said: “This is fantastic news for our business – the last year has seen us significantly increase our development programme of new

homes, expanding outside County Durham for the first time.

“At a time when many people are struggling to afford a deposit to buy their own home our ‘mov-ing on up’ scheme is providing a real alternative and helping peo-ple achieve their dream of home ownership.

“But we’re not stopping here – we have ambitious plans for the future and will continue growing the business.”

Prince Bishops Homes was set

up in 2009 and is a subsidiary of the housing association Derwent-side Homes.

Since launching, Prince Bish-ops Homes has been steadily building its property portfolio and is currently developing on 13 sites across the north east with excit-ing plans to deliver 300 homes over the next 12 months.

For more information about Prince Bishops Homes and the ‘Moving on up’ scheme, please call 0843 313 1629.

The Prince Bishops Home team with Chief Executive Keith Tallintire >

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

THe Ward Hadaway Fastest 50 al-ways provides an insight into the performance of fast growing com-

panies in the region, but what about the overall picture for corporate activity across the north east?

The continuing rise in the number of transactions handled by the corporate department in Ward Hadaway’s new-castle office is a good indicator that returning busi-ness confi-dence is ena-bling north east compa-nies to take strategic deci-sions, rather than having to deal with more s h o r t - t e r m issues.

it also tallies with recent surveys show-ing the north east economy was among the fastest growing regions in the UK in the second quarter of 2015, and that the total number of corporate transactions in the region for the first nine months of 2015 is up by 22% on the same figure last year.

The last 12 months or so has seen Ward Hadaway’s corporate department advising on all manner of transactions, from funding, investments, acquisitions and sales, involving both private and listed companies from across the region engaged in a wide range of sectors.

We have traditionally handled a large number of the investment transactions undertaken in the region, and this has continued to be the case.

it has been very pleasing to be involved in helping a number of north east businesses conclude significant funding rounds to help with their growth and development plans from both regional investors and investors based outside of the region.

Among the many sectors involved, it is notable that the firm’s energy, waste and natural resources team has been involved in advising on funding and related property, construction and con tractual matters for a number of energy projects based in the region, and in particular the waste to energy sector has been, and continues to be, very active.

As well as investment work, over the year, the newcastle corporate depart-ment has handled a significant number of company and business sales and acquisitions, with the counterparties being predominately competitors involved in the same sector, rather than financial institutions.

Based on the transactions we have undertaken, a number of sectors are continuing to see consolidation, such as motor retail, leisure, recruitment and healthcare.

While oil price instability has unfortu-

nately led to job losses in the region’s offshore sector, we anticipate that the longer-term impact on businesses in the sector will result in increasing levels of corporate activity.

The effects of oil price fluctuations and, more recently, declining world steel prices, demonstrate that for regional companies, business in the 21st century is very much a global game, and this has been borne out by our work at Ward Hadaway. We have been involved in a sizeable number of company and busi-ness sales to overseas acquirers, with the

firm’s member-ship of the Geneva Group international, the global net-work of inde-pendent profes-sional firms, providing us with the ability to obtain trust-ed local legal advice for our clients.

A noticeable trend has seen us involved in

t r a n s a c t i o n s with US-based acquirers, who are taking advantage of more favourable economic conditions in the US, and looking to use the UK as a foothold for access to eU markets.

turning to the capital markets, the last few years have seen regional businesses returning to listing on the markets of London Stock exchange Plc, particularly the AiM market, in order to fund growth. Over the years, Ward Hadaway’s clients have raised well in excess of £300m via the London Stock exchange’s markets, and we have handled a significant pro-portion of the region’s flotations.

earlier this year, Ward Hadaway host-ed an event to mark the 20th anniversary of the AiM market’s launch.

The event, which involved the head of the AiM market, Marcus Stuttard, was attended by a large number of local businesses, which were interested in learning more about the AiM market and the process of listing on AiM.

Based upon the discussions we have been having with management teams about growing their businesses, a possi-ble stock market flotation is one of the options which is regularly under consid-eration.

in conclusion, the past year has con-tinued to demonstrate that the fortunes of the region’s businesses are directly linked to global events and issues.

With that in mind, the growing com-panies which can be found in this year’s Fastest 50 aptly demonstrate two traits which are required to succeed in mod-ern business life, and for which this reg -ion is generally recognised – ambition and resilience – and long may that con-tinue.

For more information on the issues ■raised by this article, please contact Richard Butts at richard.butts@ wardhadaway.com or on 0191 204 4272.

A good measure of corporate activity across the North EastBy Richard Butts, partner in the corporate department at Ward Hadaway

Richard Butts of Ward Hadaway, right, with Marcus Stuttard, head of the London Stock Exchange’s AIM >market, at the law firm’s AIM 20th anniversary event earlier this year


Setting sail – the North East is a major exporter of goods and services across the world >

WHILST the Ward Hadaway Fastest 50 is in many ways an occasion for North East

pride, the success of our region’s businesses stretches much further than between the Tweed and the Tees.

Trading overseas has long been a major strength of the North East economy and that remains the case today.

Not only have a number of the companies in this year’s Fastest 50 built a lot of their success on doing business all over the world, but the region remains the only one in the UK which still exports more goods and services than it imports.

The North East’s particular strengths in sectors such as automo-tive, chemicals and oil and gas has a lot to do with this, but there is also a willingness and a desire to look out-side the immediate vicinity and to new horizons amongst the region’s businesses which makes internation-al trade much more the norm rather than the exception.

In addition, the region is strong not just on trading goods overseas, but also on trading knowledge.

As well as manufacturers and sup-pliers of equipment, the North East is also home to large numbers of con-sultancies in sectors such as engi-neering and oil and gas, who do a lot of their work overseas – so as well as delivering the physical assets, we are also delivering the expertise.

The value of knowledge is certainly not underestimated here. For exam-ple, not only do the North East’s five universities provide world-leading education to UK students, they are also increasingly attractive to over-seas students coming here to study subjects such as engineering and the new digital industries. In addition, our universities are expanding into other countries, whether via links with overseas universities and colleg-es or, in a number of cases, setting up their own campuses overseas.

In terms of overseas markets, the EU remains our largest trading part-ner, but there is tremendous potential for further growth in countries like India and China, despite the relative slowdown in growth rates in the latter country.

Central government in the UK has been putting a lot of effort into trying to improve our performance in these markets – we recently saw Newcastle City Council leader Nick Forbes form

part of a Northern Powerhouse dele-gation in China with the Chancellor, promoting the region and opportuni-ties to invest in major schemes such as Science Central in Newcastle.

We certainly seem to be entering a new phase in particular in our rela-tionship with China, where we are looking to the country as an investor rather than just a large market for our goods and services or a centre for low-cost manufacturing.

Nevertheless, as a country the UK still lags behind the likes of Germany and France in terms of the volume of trade we have with China and India – if we could get our exports on a par with them, that would be a huge boost to the UK economy.

However, challenges and uncer-tainties remain. We have unfortu-nately seen the consequences of lower global demand and prices for steel in the closure of the SSI plant in Redcar last month – a reminder that nothing which we do as a region can exist without looking outside our bor-ders.

There is also the prospect of the ref-erendum on the UK remaining inside the EU. The recent survey by the North East Chamber of Commerce indicated the nervousness with which many businesses are approaching the

so-called ‘Brexit’ vote with 36% of members predicting a negative impact on international trade and exports if the UK decided to pull out of the union, against 7% predicting an improvement. The arguments on this issue are likely to continue as we head closer to the eventual vote. Whatever way the result goes, continuing trade with EU countries will remain vitally important to the North East and to the UK as a whole.

As a result, we are likely to still have to follow many of the trading rules and regulations set down by the EU in order to continue doing business with our largest market.

Indeed, following the rules and regulations remains of crucial impor-tance to any company trading over-seas and is one of the key require-ments of successful exporting.

Despite all the advances in com-munication and technology which bring those overseas closer to us, tak-ing care and the right professional advice remains just as crucial as it always has – in some cases, even more so.

It is a fact that you need to take even more care with trading relation-ships with overseas partners than you do with people in the UK – there are issues of business culture, distance,

attitude and underpinning legal structures which can make a major difference to the success or otherwise of any international venture.

For example, while it may be rela-tively simple to check out a potential trading partner’s creditworthiness in the UK, how do you go about doing the same with a counterpart in China? There are also some jurisdic-tions where you have to take on a local partner or agent, you have to register with chambers of commerce and organisations like that, so there can be significant costs involved to setting up a trading structure over-seas.

There can be many hidden and not-so-hidden costs as well as different rules and regulations so what works in Durham may not work so well in Dar es Salaam.

Professional advisers can help pro-vide the experience, the know-how and the right structures to enable you to trade overseas with greater confi-dence – and contribute to the contin-uing success of North East business.

For more information on the ■issues raised by this article, contact Colin Hewitt at colin.hewitt@ wardhadaway.com or by calling 0191 204 4246.

From the North East to the world – how exports help shape our economyBy Colin Hewitt, Partner and Head of Commercial at Ward Hadaway


Lesley Fairclough, Partner and Head of Development at Ward Hadaway > Tim Care, Ward Hadaway

ARE things on the up across the North East’s property sector?

While it may be a little pre-mature to claim that things are back to normal after the upheaval of the recession, there is little doubt that the situation has markedly improved over the past couple of years.

The cranes are again visible on the skyline, particularly in urban areas across the region, and it has been a real shot in the arm to see the com-pletion of the first phase of the £200m Stephenson Quarter development just behind Newcastle Central Sta-tion. This has been a long-awaited and much-anticipated flagship devel-opment for a number of years, so it has been terrific to see the vision made reality with the impressive Crowne Plaza Hotel up and running, The Rocket Office Block and the mul-ti-storey car park completed with a number of other exciting buildings to come.

However, the rate of speculative development across the region remains below the levels seen before the recession and there is still plenty

of scope for further projects to help drive the region forward.

This is important not just for the property industry, but also for the general economic confidence of the region. The appearance of visible signs of progress and development demonstrate the faith which people have in an area and its people, so fur-ther concrete signs of this investment are always welcome.

One area where there are certainly visible signs of investment is in the supermarket sector. While members of the ‘Big Four’ have struggled some-what, the onward march of the dis-count supermarkets has been undimmed with the likes of Aldi mak-ing great strides both in terms of gain-ing market share and, importantly, building new stores across the region. Not only do these create and support jobs during the construction phase, they also help to boost employment on an ongoing basis.

The industrial sector is also doing well with a number of major new developments, including the Hitachi factory in Newton Aycliffe and the Portobello development from Raven-sworth Properties.

The tourism and leisure sector has bounced back very strongly from the recession with the North East’s many

and varied charms helping to attract investment in both new develop-ments and existing premises. The fact that no fewer than 25 new premises licences have been granted in New-castle alone since the start of 2015 speaks volumes for the area’s ability to sustain a substantial and growing night-time economy.

New hotel developments have also been springing up across the region, not just the likes of the aforemen-tioned Crowne Plaza Hotel, but also the Vermont ApartHotel on Newcas-tle’s Quayside, whilst extensions to existing hotels are also planned in areas including Sunderland and Northumberland.

Accompanying the rebound in tourism and leisure has been a strong showing from retail.

The revival of Newcastle’s Monu-ment Mall development by Hammer-son, which won Project of the Year at the RICS Renaissance Awards this year, has helped to reinvigorate that area of the city centre, bringing in top-level brand names to the city. It has also had a knock-on effect on sur-rounding streets which have all seen rent levels rise and new tenants attracted in.

In addition, major players such as intu continue to invest heavily in

developing, extending and refurbish-ing the likes of the Metro Centre and Eldon Square.

And after many years where the site has lain dormant, plans are once again in train to redevelop the former Vaux site in Sunderland as part of a £100m regeneration scheme led by the Siglion joint venture company which promises to transform three sites in the city.

Perhaps the most prominent growth area over the past couple of years has been in the student accom-modation sector, where new develop-ments seem to be announced almost weekly. A combination of new builds and changing usage of existing build-ings has increased dramatically the number of students who will now be living in our city centres.

The long-term effects of this have yet to be felt, with some voices feeling that we may be reaching saturation point. However, if the accommoda-tion can help to attract talented young people to the region, this could be a real fillip in the long term. What is important in this picture is the ability to retain these graduates in the region once they have finished their degrees and, for that, the right residential accommodation is a must.

The housebuilding sector is cer-

tainly doing its bit to help with this and is at its busiest level for many years. In fact, one of the main issues the sector is currently facing is being able to keep up with demand.

Skills shortages are playing quite a part in this with skilled tradespeople currently at something of a premium. Housebuilders are doing their best to address this by taking on scores of apprentices – North East housebuild-er Barratt currently employs more apprentices than any other organisa-tion outside the armed forces – but there remains a lot of ground to catch up on. The planning system is still holding the pace of development back and it is an unfortunate fact that public sector cuts are their part in this process with cuts to planning depart-ments meaning decisions on applica-tions are taking longer.

Despite these issues, the overall picture is definitely an improving one, which is good news not just for an industry which is home to many of the companies in the Fastest 50 for 2015, but also good for the North East as a whole.

For more information on the ■issues raised by this article, contact Lesley Fairclough at lesley. [email protected] or on 0191 204 4129.

By Lesley Fairclough, Partner and Head of Development at Ward Hadaway

Is the North East hot property when it comes to the real estate sector?


Increasing cost of employment

FAST-growing companies such as those in the ward Had-away Fastest 50 often need to

recruit additional staff to cope with the pace of expansion, but how is the landscape looking for employers tak-ing on new workers?

recent figures issued by the office for national Statistics (onS) show that average pay across the economy increased by 2.9% between May and July 2015 when compared to the same period in 2014.

The onS reported that this was the fastest pace of wage growth since the three months to January 2009.

Some see these figures as a sign of economic confidence. whilst that may be the case in certain sectors of the economy or in certain geographi-cal areas, it is not the case across the economy as a whole.

Some businesses have been able to increase wages because their profits are improving; others have increased wages as a defensive measure to retain skilled staff in sectors where there are skills shortages.

There are also many businesses

that have seen wage costs increase due to factors outside of their control. in the last 12 months, businesses have experienced increased wage costs due to some or all of the follow-ing:n annual increase to the national Minimum wage;n pensions auto-enrolment;n case law involving the calculation of holiday pay when employees work overtime or receive commission;n developments in national Mini-mum wage case law (especially in the domiciliary care sector); andn national insurance and pensions contributions on these increases.

in addition to the above, in the July Budget the Chancellor introduced a national Living wage, which will come into force in April 2016 and will replace the national Minimum wage for workers aged 25 and above.

The national Living wage will start at £7.20, meaning an initial increase of 50p per hour above the current adult national Minimum wage of £6.70. This is a significant increase for businesses that only pay the national Minimum wage.

For those businesses that already pay £7.20 per hour, they may find that they are impacted by this change if

their suppliers have to pass on the cost of wage increases.

what is also a concern is the fact that the government has made it clear that it intends the national Liv-ing wage to increase to £9.00 an hour by 2020. This is a major increase from the current adult national Minimum wage, it will happen over a relatively short period of time and will impact on a large proportion of businesses.

whilst wage increases, whether voluntary or government-led, are good for workers and hopefully the economy in the long term, businesses still have to find the money to fund these increases.

There is a concern that the pace of government-led increases will mean that if businesses can’t pass on the cost of the increases to customers then unless productivity in the busi-ness can be improved, it will result fewer jobs being created, fewer hours for existing staff and, in some cases, job losses.

The sectors most at risk are the typ-ically low-paying sectors that operate with tight margins or are locked into long-term contracts that do not have the option to increase prices due to unavoidable increases to wage costs; in particular the retail, hospitality and

social care sectors. it is clear that businesses need to improve produc-tivity to be able to pay higher wages.

There are some encouraging signs in this respect as the onS recently reported that productivity across the UK economy rose at its fastest rate in four years in April to June 2015. out-put per hour in the UK economy rose by 0.9% in that period.

However, at the same time, the onS released statistics that show that the UK should not get too excited about this increase. The UK has the second-lowest productivity rate in the world’s richest nations, lagging well behind the USA, germany, France and italy. if the UK economy could match the productivity levels of the USA, the UK economy would grow by 31%!

Businesses should always be look-ing at ways to improve productivity and that is more important now in a climate of increasing employment costs.

increased productivity can be achieved in many different ways. Many businesses will invest in new technology; others will invest in train-ing staff.

in the Employment Team at ward Hadaway, one way of increasing pro-

ductivity that we regularly help employers with is to look at ways of improving absence and poor per-formance.

Both of these issues have a signifi-cant impact on productivity.

Sometimes it is a matter of starting to take a harder stance on these issues and putting processes in place to tackle these issues when they arise. However, it is also important to look at ways of avoiding these issues in the first place.

These issues may be caused by employees being in the wrong roles and a review of processes, structures and duties can result in significant improvements in productivity. Also, cultural changes that improve work-force happiness can have a positive impact on productivity.

if you want to explore ways in which you can make changes to your workforce in an attempt to improve productivity, then please contact the ward Hadaway Employment Team and we will be happy to assist.

For more information on the nissues raised by this article, contact Jamie Gamble at [email protected] or by calling 0191 204 4456.

By Jamie Gamble, Partner in the Employment Team at Ward Hadaway

Jamie Gamble, Partner in the Employment Team at Ward Hadaway >



It was a case of keeping it in the fam-ily for the overall winners of the 2015 Ward Hadaway Fastest 50 Awards, techflow Marine.

The Cramlington-based company won the award for fastest growing North East business for 2015, as well as being named the fastest growing large business in the region.

The offshore oil and gas and marine specialist followed in the footsteps of its sister company, techflow Flexi-bles, which was named fastest grow-ing large business in the 2014 Ward Hadaway Fastest 50, to make it a remarkable double triumph.

Ken Beattie, sales director at tech-flow Marine, said: “It was a great sur-prise to win.

“In these difficult times, we are very pleased to have increased our turnover so much and we look for-ward to continually growing the com-pany and developing into even more of a world force. We have really com-mitted staff, a skilled workforce and a determination to succeed. Exports

are also key to us – we have to work hard abroad and we can’t just rely on work in the UK.”

techflow Marine provides a range of specialist products to the global offshore oil and gas and marine industries, particularly fluid transfer systems for the upstream drilling and production sector.

Many of these incorporate large off-loading hose reel and tandem mooring systems used to export crude oil and LNG condensate from floating production storage and off-loading (FPSO) platforms to oil tank-ers.

techflow Marine’s drive is continu-ous development of proven technol-ogy to enhance the operation and safety of their systems, with the

objective to improve the product per-formance within their current mar-ket, as well as expanding this tech-nology into other industry sectors.

With techflow’s newly developed QUAYREELtM hose reeling systems, the company is entering into a totally new sector, providing highly efficient and safe ship to shore multi-product loading/off-loading facilities.

This product will be used for Petro-chemical, crude oil and LNG transfer, introducing enhanced technology and safety to ports and terminals worldwide. As well as the company’s Cramlington head office, techflow Marine has manufacturing partners worldwide, in key locations such Sin-gapore, China, South Korea, Brazil and the USA.

For more information please con- ■tact techflow Marine Ltd. 4 Silverton Court, Northumberland Business Park, Cramlington NE23 7RY , tel: 0191 2501865, email: [email protected]

Double joy for offshore oil and gas firm as it wins titles

Techflow directors, from left, non-executive director Colin Fitzpatrick, sales director Ken Beattie and directors Graham Clark and Jim Straker >

Two of Techflow Marine’s Large Hose Reel systems ready for load out in China >

(Above and below) Techflow >Marine’s QUAYREEL multi-reel systems located at Reina Sofia pier in Huelva, Southern Spain

Techflow Marine’s large Hose Reel >systems installed on the MV18 FPSO, to be located offshore Brazil


IT IS perhaps appropriate that this year’s Ward Hadaway Fastest 50 Awards were held in the midst of

the Rugby World Cup on Tyneside.Leaving aside England’s rather

sorry contribution as a team to the tournament, the event was the ideal showcase for all that is best about the North East – friendly, welcoming, passionate and always prepared to make the most of the moment.

In many ways, the Fastest 50 rep-resents all that is best about the North East, encapsulating the ambi-tion, vision and determination which drive our businesses to succeed and to continue striving.

Like the best rugby sides, team-work has clearly played a major part in the achievements of the compa-nies in this year’s Fastest 50. The win-ning businesses have been very keen to stress how their successes have come not from an individual deci-sion or the singular vision of one person, but from each and every member of their company doing their bit, playing their part and com-ing together to drive the business forward.

In a similar vein, the individual companies within this year’s Ward Hadaway Fastest 50 together create a formidable force for the North East economy.

Looking at the combined turnover of all 50 companies in the past year, we see a juggernaut that has deliv-ered £1.53bn worth of sales to the region.

To put that in context, compare that to the £912m they achieved three years ago. The £618m increase represents a 67.8% rise in turnover across those three years – some pret-ty impressive numbers on the score-board.

The combined achievement is even more outstanding when you consider the challenges which North East companies have faced over the past few years, from recovering from the recession to dealing with increas-ing competition from across the world.

Of course, in every team there are always outstanding individuals, so what is the story behind the match winners of the 2015 Fastest 50?

In many respects, Techflow Marine is used to the big stage – the Cram-lington-based business’s sister com-pany, Techflow Flexibles, won the award for fastest growing large busi-ness in the 2014 Fastest 50.

However, Techflow Marine, which

provides a range of specialist prod-ucts to the offshore oil and gas and marine industries, has gone one bet-ter this year to win the overall fastest growing business, as well as the fast-est growing large business award.

A potent combination of strong North East roots and expertise matched by a global vision and oper-ating base are crucial to the compa-ny’s success: it uses its Cramlington facility for equipment manufacture, assembly and testing, developed by an experienced and highly qualified team of design and project engi-neers. Most of the output from the plant is specialised, bespoke mech-anical, electrical, hydraulic power and control systems equipment used mainly in the European offshore and marine sectors.

In addition, Techflow Marine has manufacturing facilities in Singapore and South Korea, where larger equipment is made for use mainly in the Far East, and the company also sub-contracts to other manufactur-ers in mainland Europe, the US and China.

Providing specialised products and equipment in niche sectors has been a major strength of the North East for many years, from the days of

Lord Armstrong onwards, and Tech-flow Marine follows in this great tra-dition.

In this vein, it is perhaps fitting that diversified engineering group Reece Group has this year moved into the historic former Armstrong Works on Newcastle’s Scotswood Road, now home to the group’s five companies: Responsive Engineering, Pearson Engineering, Pipe Coil Technology, Velocity and Reece Innovation.

Other engineering and manufac-turing companies to be found in the 2015 Fastest 50 include British Engines, CA Group, Hitachi Con-

struction Machinery, Hydram Engi-neering, Marine Fabricators and Mech-Tool Engineering – all attest-ing to the fact that the North East remains very much a powerhouse in this sector.

While the region’s traditional strengths are demonstrated by the fastest growing large company and overall winner, the North East’s abil-ity to stay at the forefront of new developments is exemplified by the winners of the other awards in this year’s list.

SITS Group takes the title of fastest growing medium-sized business, with an impressive record of expan-sion in the field of what they describe as “virtual solutions to physical problems”.

From its base in Cramlington, the company provides services covering all aspects of cloud computing, from virtual desktops and server consoli-dation, to cloud management and disaster recovery solutions.

With so much of our working lives across so many sectors based around computers and the internet, busi-nesses which can provide reliable, workable solutions for the issues encountered in the virtual space are much in demand.

That is certainly the case with SITS Group, whose clients stretch across the country but also include around 20% of the North East’s Top 200 com-panies.

The increasing shift towards mobile commerce and flexible work-spaces looks set to continue that trend further.

Another company with its finger firmly on the technological pulse is the winner of the fastest growing small business award.

Mediaworks was started up in 2007 as a search marketing agency, helping clients to be found easier by customers on the internet.

Since then, the business has expanded considerably to encom-pass a range of online marketing services delivered to national and international companies from its headquarters in Gateshead, as well as an operation in London.

With a client list including the likes of pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmith-Kline, retailer House of Fraser and transport operator Stagecoach, it is a great example of North East ability and determination resulting in national attention.

As the region’s fast-growing tech sector continues to attract admiring glances and further entrants, I think we can expect a number of business-es from the industry to be making the Fastest 50 lists of the future.

The mix of traditional strengths and new industries found in this year’s award winners are also reflect-ed by the make-up of the Fastest 50 as a whole.

We have a total of 21 companies making a return appearance to the 2015 list, having also featured in the 2014 countdown, with 29 new entrants to this year’s rankings.

Familiar names in the list include automotive component supplier Nifco, construction group Owen Pugh and developer Banks Group, while those new to the 2015 rankings include Greencroft Milk Supplies, DC Handrails and Ironwork and air conditioning specialist Cool Designs Ltd.

The wide geographical spread of the class of 2015 also bodes well for the North East with companies from Northumberland down to Teesside all represented, and quite a number located away from the region’s major urban centres, which tend to attract and develop most fast-growing busi-nesses.

So, while the England rugby team may not have covered themselves with glory this year, Team North East is most definitely alive and kicking.

By Colin Hewitt, Partner and Head of Commercial at Ward Hadaway

Heroic performance by Team North East on the global stage

The mix of traditional strengths and new industries found in this year’s award winners are also reflected by the make-up of the Fastest 50

Colin Hewitt, Partner and Head of Commercial at Ward Hadaway >

Helping businesses in our region grow and succeed @WardHadaway#Fastest50NE


Fastest 50 2015[S] Small business - turnover between £1m - £5m [M] Medium business - turnover between £5m - £15m [L] Large business - turnover over £15m The companies in this list have been selected from the table of fastest growing profit-making, private, regional companies, based on turnover growth. Information has been compiled by researchers at St. Chad’s College/Durham Business School using data which is publicly available at Compa-nies House of UK listed companies. The average turnover growth has been assessed on a percentage increase based on the difference between turnover figures filed for the last three years. To qualify, companies must be trading entities and have turnover in excess of £1million in the last three years of filed accounts, which are up to date as at 31 July 2015. Companies must also have made profits in each of the past three years’ accounts. Companies returning to the list must have filed new accounts since last years awards.

Private limited companies which are subsidiaries of listed companies do not qualify.

Subsidiaries of foreign-controlled companies have been accepted if they have headquarters or a decision-mak-ing function in the region. Ward Hadaway and The Journal do not accept any responsibility for any errors or omissions.

Rank Company Name Date of Average last analysed Turnover turnover accounts (£000s) growth1 Techflow Marine Fastest growing large and overall business 31/01/2014 17,422 93.9%2 Lanchester Wines [L] 30/06/2014 28,922 52.6%3 Mech-Tool Engineering [L] 31/03/2015 35,333 52.3%4 SITS Group Fastest growing medium business 31/03/2015 5,104 51.2%5 Mediaworks Fastest growing small business 31/03/2014 3,670 44.8%6 Eurodrive Motor Finance [L] 30/04/2014 18,375 40.5%7 Motherdale Limited [S] 31/03/2014 2,926 40.3%8 Pacifica Group [L] 31/03/2014 26,371 37.1%9 Lucion Environmental [M] 31/03/2014 8,836 37.0%10 Jomast Developments Limited [L] 31/03/2014 15,971 36.8%11 Oil Consultants Ltd [L] 30/06/2014 33,602 36.7%12 Banks Group [L] 28/09/2014 128,320 36.5%13 Marine Fabricators Ltd [M] 31/03/2015 14,930 35.8%14 Popular Care Ltd [S] 31/03/2014 4,027 35.7%15 Greencroft Bottling [L] 30/06/2014 32,066 34.7%16 Shepherd Offshore [L] 30/04/2014 27,733 34.3%17 Hays Travel [L] 31/10/2014 253,055 33.7%18 eMerchantPay [M] 31/08/2014 14,845 33.42%19 Hodgson Fish [M] 30/11/2014 9,789 33.41%20 Hodgson Sayers [L] 31/12/2014 15,014 33.3%21 CF Motoring Services [M] 31/03/2014 9,839 33.1%22 Hadrian Healthcare [M] 31/03/2014 8,166 32.8%23 ADM Pressings [L] 28/03/2015 24,569 31.5%24 Prima Cheese [L] 31/03/2014 37,519 30.4%25 Hydram Engineering Ltd [M] 30/04/2015 11,662 29.4%26 T Manners & Sons [M] 31/12/2014 12,277 27.7%27 Hitachi Construction Machinery [L] 31/03/2015 162,991 27.5%28 Workwear Express [M] 31/03/2014 7,343 27.2%29 Prince Bishops Homes [S] 31/03/2014 1,715 26.4%30 CA Group Limited [L] 30/09/2014 53,919 26.0%31 MJ Hickey - Plant Hire & Contracts Ltd [L] 31/05/2014 18,671 25.2%32 Cool Designs Limited [M] 31/12/2013 8,579 24.6%33 A-Belco Property Limited [L] 31/03/2014 15,293 24.2%34 Kookaburra Ltd [L] 31/10/2014 24,457 24.1%35 Nifco [L] 31/12/2013 49,866 23.9%36 Crosbys [S] 31/03/2014 3,396 23.8%37 The Mailing House Group [M] 31/10/2014 10,380 23.3%38 CDM Recruitment [M] 31/12/2014 12,611 22.7%39 Falck Safety Services [L] 31/12/2013 19,718 22.5%40 Clayton Glass [M] 31/12/2014 13,907 20.6%41 Niramax [L] 31/03/2014 32,712 20.3%42 Owen Pugh [L] 31/03/2014 37,305 20.1%43 The Feel Good Group [M] 31/12/2014 10,752 19.81%44 Tyne Insulation Supplies Ltd [M] 30/06/2014 8,619 19.75%45 DC Handrails and Ironworks Parts Limited [S] 30/06/2014 1,654 19.72%46 LJJ Ltd [L] 31/07/2014 38,929 19.68%47 British Engines [L] 03/05/2014 156,257 19.4%48 Kans & Kandy [L] 30/06/2014 18,992 19.1%49 Greencroft Milk Supplies [M] 31/07/2014 11,046 18.9%50 Ryder Architecture [M] 30/04/2014 8,112 18.1%

Helping businesses in our region grow and succeed @WardHadaway#Fastest50NE


The public sector has tradition-ally accounted for a substantial part of the North east econo-

my, and remains a key market for many private sector businesses, in-cluding a number in this year’s Fast-est 50.

however, as the government con-tinues to pursue its key objective of eliminating the deficit, public spend-ing keeps falling and this has a knock-on effect on the private sector.

In case anyone is in any doubt as to the importance of public spending and public services to the private sec-tor, consider these figures:

In 2013/14, the UK public sector spent a total of £242bn on the pro-curement of goods and services (that’s 33% of total public sector spending).

In the same year, total public spending on services in the North east was £25bn. That is around £10,000 per head.

In 2014, 240,000 people were employed by the public sector in the North east, contributing a substantial sum to the spending power of the local population, although that

number is well below the peak of 297,000, back in 2009.

Local authorities in our region, having faced cuts of around 40% in their central government grants under the Coalition, now face similar cuts in the next four to five years under the Conservatives. At the same time, our regional NhS bodies such as NhS trusts and clinical commis-sioning groups are battling against rising costs but, at best, static budg-ets.

This feeds back into the North east economy as local authority staff are made redundant, local facilities are closed and local suppliers see their contracts reduced and/or prices squeezed.

Despite all this doom and gloom, there are opportunities for North east businesses if they can adapt to a new procurement landscape.

There are three factors which local businesses could take advantageous of:

The growing importance of social ■value in procurement.

The eU’s aim to use procurement ■to drive innovative solutions.

New procurement regulations ■which are aimed, in part, at deliver-ing the government’s objective of

increasing its spend with SMes.

Social ValueThe Public Services (Social Value)

Act 2012 requires every public authority which is planning to pro-cure new services to consider how what it is procuring might improve the economic, social and environ-mental wellbeing of its area.

This “social value” approach includes looking beyond price at what the collective benefit to a com-munity can be.

examples of social value delivered as part of a procurement could include offering training to offenders as part of their rehabilitation, creat-ing local apprenticeships or reducing harmful emissions.

As more public authorities are becoming familiar with the concept of social value, so its importance in procurement is growing. Those sup-pliers who can demonstrate they have grasped the concept and, important-ly, who can articulate both the wider community benefits and the net cash-able savings to the public sector, will have a competitive edge when ten-dering for public sector contracts.

InnovationThe public sector is continually

seeking to redesign the way its public services are delivered, in order to drive savings and efficiencies. This requires innovative thinking, and pri-vate sector suppliers are well placed to help achieve these aims.

The procurement rules have recent-ly been updated to include a proce-dure called Innovation Partnership, which is designed to enable the pub-lic and private sectors to work togeth-er to develop new, innovative solu-tions to support smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.

This is a big improvement on previ-ous rules, where R&D was not caught, but the purchase of a new solution had to be procured by competition, thus disincentivising the private sec-tor from investing in the R&D in the first place.

Procurement and the SME AgendaThe 2015 Procurement Regulations

include a number of measures to encourage SMes to bid for and win a greater share of government con-tracts.

In a recent announcement, the Cabinet Office said that it want to see 33% of all central government pro-curement spending going to SMes. The new measures include:

The public sector must consider ■

whether larger contracts should be broken down into smaller lots.

The advertising of most public ■contracts on the “Contracts Finder” website.

Shorter timescales for most pro- ■curement processes.

A requirement on the public sec- ■tor to pay its suppliers within 30 days.

A cap on any minimum turnover ■requirement in order to qualify for a tender.

The abolition of the use of pre- ■qualification questionnaires for smaller procurements.

All of these changes make this is a good time for businesses, particularly SMes, to be targeting public sector contracts.

North east business has shown itself highly adept at innovation and at working in partnership with the public sector.

With this in mind, the time is right to try and increase its share of public spending on goods and servic-es.

For more information on the ■issues raised by this article, please contact Tim Care at tim.care@ wardhadaway.com or by calling 0191 204 4224.

Public sector procurement – a lever for regional growthBy Tim Care, Partner in the Public Sector team at Ward Hadaway

Tim Care, Ward Hadaway >


AS IN previous years, the energy sector has played a significant part in helping to power the

Ward Hadaway Fastest 50 for 2015.However, while the sector contin-

ues to make a significant contribution to the Fastest 50 and to the wider North East economy, recent changes in the market are leading to a range of challenges and opportunities.

The market is currently affected by the economic effects of a relatively low global oil price, and the impact of policy changes arising out of the gov-ernment’s review of the energy mar-ket as a whole.

The impact of the oil price is rela-tively well understood, and continues to have a number of effects within the region, some positive, others less so.

The North East is home to a pletho-ra of established and new businesses operating in the upstream oil and gas markets, including a number of com-panies in this year’s Ward Hadaway Fastest 50.

The range of business activities in the sector means that, while some have to deal with challenging market environments, others are growing rapidly to serve regional, national and

international demands. Although the reductions in the global oil price have forced many national and interna-tional oil and gas supply chain busi-nesses to adjust their cost base to remain competitive, the North East’s historically lower cost base does cre-ate an opportunity for growth, as we can see from this year’s Ward Hada-way Fastest 50 and, in all likelihood, from future Fastest 50 lists.

It is a fact that many of the region’s oil and gas businesses are part of international corporations, who take a more global view of where to base their commercial activities.

Fortunately, the North East comes up well on this analysis as it contin-ues to offer global businesses a strong combination of availability of experi-enced, quality staff, and a relatively low cost of operations.

As the low oil price has a down-ward effect on upstream activities, it can support downstream generation, distribution and maintenance activi-ties, while enabling all other busi-nesses in the region to benefit from lower transport and energy costs offered by a low oil price.

Although global concerns have dic-tated the oil price, since May, the UK government has aggressively imple-mented a number of significant changes to the UK’s energy policy, in

part to support deficit reduction measures, while preserving the EU 2020 targets on energy use.

The rapid adoption of renewable electricity generation over the past 10 years has enabled the UK to derive up to 25% of its electricity demand from renewable sources.

While this helps support the power element of the EU 2020 requirement to derive 20% of the UK’s total energy from renewable sources, significant work remains to be done in relation to energy used for heating and trans-port, since only a fifth of the energy consumed in the UK is in the form of electricity.

As the 2020 targets for power have now been met, and to reduce the additional costs to the consumer of further support, the government has amended the support mechanisms for power generation projects.

This has included ending the Renewables Obligation Certificate (ROC) regime; deferring the second auction of the successor to ROC; Contracts for Difference; and making changes to the feed-in tariff regime for small renewable power projects, to effectively render them unfunda-ble.

The net consequence of these measures is that it is unlikely that any further renewable energy generation

will be developed in England and Wales unless it can exist without sub-sidy.

As the 2020 energy targets relating to energy incurred in heat and trans-portation remain outstanding, it is expected that support mechanisms such as RHI and various biofuels measures will remain.

As well as addressing the supply side, the government is supporting demand side policies to promote more efficient use of energy, as well as implementing measures to man-age demand through smart metering systems.

This is good news for various North East businesses which are active in these fields, including larger partici-pants such as Nissan, Northern Pow-ergrid, Utilitywise and Siemens, through to a variety of fast growth businesses in energy efficiency, and renewable heating systems.

Further changes in the energy mar-ket are set to affect a wide range of companies across the region, not least the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS).

This is a mandatory energy assess-ment scheme which mainly affects larger businesses and organisations and which came into force in Decem-ber last year.

Organisations affected by ESOS are

obliged to carry out audits of the energy used by their buildings, industrial processes and transport every four years in order to identify cost-effective energy saving meas-ures.

As a result, the new ESOS regime may generate opportunities for busi-nesses operating in the energy effi-ciency field, although many are adopting a cautious approach follow-ing previous measures such as the Green Deal which suffered from low adoption levels from consumers, and was associated with a number of business failures due to delays in implementation.

What is certain is that the impact of the domestic and European policy, and the global oil position has and will continue to affect many of the region’s businesses in a range of dif-ferent ways.

The North East’s culture of innova-tion should lead to many being able to capitalize on any advantages pre-sented by the changes, and add to large number of businesses working within the sector in the region.

For more information on the ■issues raised by this article, please contact Mark Whitehead at [email protected] or by calling 0191 204 4214.

Keeping the energy up

By Mark Whitehead, Head of Energy and Utilities at Ward Hadaway

Mark Whitehead >


Pensions might not be the first thing that comes to mind for a fast-growing business, but all

employers will have to come to grips with the auto-enrolment process over the coming years.

so how do you make auto-enrol-ment work for you rather than make you work for auto-enrolment?

Auto-enrolment is the occasionally complex process by which an employer must assess its workforce for eligibility at each payroll run, and it affects all employers regardless of whether any pension contributions will end up being collected. Commu-nication requirements and avoiding prohibited behaviours apply whether or not an employer has any “eligible

jobholders”, hence there is no escape. However, auto-enrolment need not be a tricky process. once properly installed, it should run all by itself. But it takes careful planning to achieve a proper installation at the first attempt.

Larger companies have been deal-ing with auto-enrolment since octo-ber 2012. even those employers with access to top-level advisers and large budgets have found that there are many small snags that can trip up the unwary, mostly to do with the com-patibility of auto-enrolment systems with their current remuneration proc-esses. it is these practical issues which typically can result in non-compli-ance.

Roughly 50,000 companies have been through auto-enrolment in the last three years, and their experiences

have built up an extensive library of good practice. There are some 1.8 million companies yet to reach their “staging date” in the next two years, starting from Q4 of 2015, who should take heed of that good practice.

Concerns have been expressed that the pensions industry might struggle to cope with such vast numbers and experience a “capacity crunch”, leav-ing small employers high and dry.

However, huge progress has been made in developing web-based solu-tions that offer compliance with auto-enrolment legislation in just a few clicks. These solutions are increas-ingly sophisticated, learning from the problems encountered by the larger firms who did not have the benefit of such solutions – but not all solutions do everything yet that an employer needs to do to achieve compliance with auto-enrolment legislation. it is

still is a case of “buyer beware”. Fur-thermore, the corollary of pared down self-service solutions is that there may no one on hand to help should problems arise.

employers should also note that tick-box compliance in itself will not be enough in future. The Pensions Regulator and the Financial Conduct Authority are paying greater attention than ever to the benefits auto-enrolled employees can expect to receive on retirement.

Courts are increasingly applying the concept of “reasonable expecta-tions”. The press is helpfully exposing the “rip-off” fees and charges bedev-illing the pensions industry. As an employer, will you be held to account if your auto-enrolment scheme does not provide a reasonable level of ben-efits for your employees? The new pensions flexibilities are making pen-

sions saving more attractive – it’s cash and you can leave it to the kids now, and members of pension schemes will be increasingly prepared to take legal action when pension schemes are not up to scratch.

employers need to undertake research in order to establish a remu-neration and pensions policy that will be fit for purpose now and in the future, capable of attracting and retaining the right calibre of staff while maintaining the culture and vibrancy of a new entrepreneurial business.

A proper decision-making process is vital to be able to defend against any future claims, documenting how the employer carried out its duties and justifying why it made any given choice in the process.

Ward Hadaway can provide an understanding of the requirements of the statutory employer within the context of an employer’s wider duties to its “job holders” and help future-proof the decision-making process.

We can provide access to the wider team of advisers required to produce the tailor-made, flexible solution a quickly growing business needs. We have a wide range of tried and tested contacts in the fields of financial advice, HR, payroll, software, accounts and tax specialists, among others.

For more information on the ■issues raised by this article, please contact Tristan Mander at [email protected] or on 0191 204 4285.

By Tristan Mander, Associate in the Pensions team at Ward Hadaway

Plan ahead for pensions in workplace

Tristan Mander. >


They have succeeded in growing their businesses faster than their counter-

parts, but what do the Fastest 50 of 2015 make of the major issues of to-day? Taking the pulse of the North east’s trailblazers, we asked a cross-section of the Fastest 50 five key questions – here are the answers.

1. What are the biggest challenges you have faced in growing your company?

As you might expect, given the wide range of different businesses in the 2015 Ward hadaway Fastest 50, this question produced a varied set of responses.

“Getting through the recession” was a difficult challenge for a number of businesses, particularly sorting through its effect on cash-flow and on the stability of compa-ny life.

Getting the right staff was also earmarked as a key consideration.

“Finding the right people who are the right fit for the company,” was how one member of the Fastest 50 put it, a sentiment echoed by oth-ers, who said that keeping their workforce happy was also a key requirement.

Of course, with growth comes change, and a number of compa-nies cited alterations which they had had to make to keep their busi-nesses expanding and moving into new markets as a big challenge.

“Learning the e-commerce trade,” was cited by one member of the Fastest 50 as a challenge when the business moved into the online sphere.

“Reorganising the structure of the company,” said another, adding that “The world is an uncertain place so this is always a challenge”.

“Getting the name of the compa-ny out there and developing a track record which customers were pre-pared to trust,” was cited as another issue.

Sector-specific issues were also raised as difficult challenges, vary-ing from the cost of oil and demand

in particular marketplaces, to find-ing and retaining the right kind of properties.

2. As a place to do business, how healthy do you think the North East is at the moment, and what’s the one thing you would do to change it?

North east pride positively shone through in the responses to this question, with companies from right across the Fastest 50 waxing lyrical about the region.

“It is a wonderful place to do business and one which is getting stronger and stronger,” was how one respondent put it.

“The North east provides us with all of the professional support we would get in London and the South east and even greater access to good quality people to work with.”

Other responses included:“The North east market is excep-

tionally healthy and is the most successful of the regions in which we operate.”

“The North east is incredibly healthy and it’s also a great envi-ronment in which to work, with the coast and countryside so near.”

“The North east is really on the up and we are currently seeing an up-lift in orders locally.”

“The North east is definitely a good place to do business thanks to the loyalty and strong skill base of people here.”

“The region seems to be in a buoyant mood.”

“The North east has a very healthy business environment and Newcastle is a great place to be.”

however, among the justifiable pride, there was recognition that certain aspects of business life in the region did need improving:

“We would like to see larger com-panies pay contractors faster so as to improve cashflow for smaller businesses.”

“The area would benefit from more people with skills in the digit-al arena.”

A call for better transport links

came from several businesses, while there was also a plea for a more co-ordinated approach to dealing with issues.

“We should see a united North east – there are currently too many Local enterprise Partnerships (LePs) not working together,” said one

“Local authorities need to review their policies and make them more solid,” said another.

“It could be really powerful if all the Northern players came togeth-er,” was how one company summed things up.

3. Is it difficult getting in people with the right kind of skills and expertise for your business, and how do you go about retaining them?

Skills shortages or the skills gap has been cited in many surveys as something which holds the North east back, but our survey found a decidedly mixed picture.

Among those who saw getting in people with the right skills as a problem, the responses included:

“It is difficult to get in the right staff.”

“Getting the right fit is difficult, although we do have low staff turn-over.”

“It is difficult to get new employ-ees with the right skills, although so far we have dealt with the problem by ensuring we retain our staff.”

“There does not appear to be the available pool of talent.”

Issues are also encountered at both ends of the scale, as these two responses illustrate:

“We are trying to take on appren-tices but we find it difficult to get colleges to support the types of skills that our apprentices need to learn.”

“Colleges and universities are not offering the degrees that businesses need to provide the skills for their employees.”

“We struggle to recruit at the top and to find people with good com-mercial experience. There are not

many corporate headquarters in the North east, so a lot of the top graduates go elsewhere.”

however, other respondents from the Fastest 50 reported a different experience. Their views included:

“It’s not difficult to get good qual-ity people – we feel that the quality and skills available in the North east is as good as you would find anywhere else.”

“We don’t have any issues with getting the right staff or retaining them.”

There also remains a considera-ble grey area in the skills picture, as these other responses from Fastest 50 companies show:

“We don’t have any problems at the moment, although as the com-pany grows and looks for higher level skill sets such as management and technical design skills, then this may become more difficult.”

“It is not easy to find the right skills as employees’ roles are unique, but our in-house training upskills and we find the talent pool is good enough.”

4. What are your thoughts on the availability of finance for busi-nesses in the North East and what can be done to improve that?

As with the question of skills, companies’ views on finance varied considerably.

Among those who thought improvements needed to be made, the comments included:

“The banks are keen to have our business now we are doing well, but they were not so keen when we were not.”

however, a large number of those who responded reported little or no issues with obtaining finance:

“We have dealt with our bank for a number of years and they have supported us to the point we are at now.”

“We have taken up various enter-prise grants and these have worked well.”

“We don’t have any issues with availability of finance – our bank

has been very good with us.”“Finance is there for the right

businesses.”“We have always found finance

available and we don’t have any issues.”

And some businesses were sym-pathetic to banks’ positions when it came to borrowing, with responses including:

“A company should have some assets which a bank can lend against and I can understand why banks can’t lend to businesses if they don’t pass banks’ strict tests.”

“The availability of finance has to be scored strictly. A company has to have assets a bank can lend against so that the bank is in a solid position.”

5. Do you think the Northern Pow-erhouse agenda will improve things for your business and the North East as a whole?

Responses to this question were quite an eye-opener for Chancellor George Osborne, who has made great play of using a mixture of transport improvements and devo-lution to boost the potential of the North’s economy.

The idea met with a positive response in some cases:

“hopefully, it will break the cycle of everything being London-based.”

“A strong voice for the North is good for business, although I have some doubts as to how it can be made to work.”

“If everyone works together as set out, then the North will be power-ful.”

“There should be better co-oper-ation between Teesside and the rest of the North east.”

however, a number of other respondents ranged from sceptical to dismissive:

“I don’t know a lot about it and it is not really relevant to the busi-ness.”

“The Northern Powerhouse is not relevant.”

“Not really sure what it is.”

View from the top – what Fastest 50 companies really think


The difficulties of keeping data safe

AS BUSINESS for all companies moves increasingly online, the importance of keeping cus-

tomer, client and organisational data safe increases, as does the difficulty in doing so.

The recent high-profile ‘hack’ of the Ashley Madison website has demon-strated how vulnerable sensitive data can be – and what happens if it gets out in the open.

Whatever you might think of the morality of the Ashley Madison web-site and its owners, there is no doubt that the massive data breach it experi-enced has led to a great deal of suffer-ing amongst its customers and even those who had not signed up to the site itself.

We don’t know for sure the motiva-tions of the hackers who broke into Ashley Madison’s database, but we do know they were indiscriminate in the people they ended up harming.

They released details of 33 million “customers” onto the internet, includ-ing names, addresses and emails. 1.2 million of those listed were from the UK. People who never registered with site have also been affected as the company did not verify email address-es. Distressingly, at least two suicides have been linked with the disclosure.

Even though most of us will not be personally affected by this event, it highlights a growing trend which Bruce Schneier, the data security expert, has called “organisational dox-

ing” – stealing data from an organisa-tion’s network and indiscriminately dumping it all on the Internet.

Prior to the Ashley Madison hack, there was the case of Sony Pictures, where hackers allegedly from North Korea extracted revenge on the com-pany for satirising the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un by hacking and then disclosing thousands of private emails from employees. These includ-ed very embarrassing emails from senior company officials which were highly critical of Hollywood celebri-ties.

The fact is that we are all becoming increasingly vulnerable to this sort of activity.

We keep more and more of our per-sonal data online: our email is often in the cloud; so are our address books and calendars, whether we use Goog-le, Apple, Microsoft, or someone else.

The fact is that we are all becoming increasingly vulnerable to this sort of activity. We keep more and more of our personal data online: as Schneier says, our email is often in the cloud; so

are our address books and calendars, whether we use Google, Apple, Micro-soft, or someone else. Flickr, Facebook, and iCloud are the repositories for our personal photos. Facebook and Twit-

ter store many of our intimate conver-sations; Uber keeps our taxi journeys. Even our medical data is stored online if we use fitness apps like Fitbit or Jaw-bone.

New lifestyle apps are coming into the marketplace every day. Inevitably some of these will not have sufficiently powerful safeguards in place to keep the personal data of their subscribers properly secure.

Even the larger, more established companies are fighting a constant bat-tle against an army of largely anony-mous hackers.

For individuals, the important thing to remember is that the UK has pow-erful data protection laws which are intended to protect us.

They impose strict obligations on any organisation which processes our personal data – which basically means any organisation which collects, stores, uses or distributes the informa-tion in any way. In particular, the organisation processing personal data must keep it secure. The law applies throughout the European Economic

Area and similar standards are also upheld in certain other countries out-side the EEA.

Unfortunately it’s not always clear where our personal data is stored – even when the organisation is based in the UK.

If you are involved in running a business which processes personal data, or are thinking of starting one, it’s vitally important to build in securi-ty from the start.

UK data protection laws require businesses to take appropriate steps, both technical and organisational, to protect personal data against unau-thorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction and damage.

In practice, this involves attention on several fronts: conducting a privacy impact assessment, getting the right technical security in place, managing the operational risks effectively and ensuring you have the necessary legal protections.

As well as the risk of fines for not complying with the law, little is more damaging to the reputation of a busi-ness than to lose its customers’ data.

This is especially important when the data is particularly confidential or sensitive – relating to an individual’s finances or health for instance.

Customer trust, once lost, is very hard to regain.

For more information on the ■issues raised by this article, please contact Judy Baker at [email protected] or by calling 0191 204 4252.

By Judy Baker, Partner in the Commercial Team at Ward Hadaway

Judy Baker >


SINCE our success at last year’s Ward Hadaway Fastest 50, we have had a fantastic 12 months.

We took the apprenticeship catego-ry at the NE Business Awards at the start of 2015, followed quickly by the SME category winners in the Con-structing Excellence North East Awards.

We were also highly flattered to be among the country’s most influential firms in the London Stock Exchange 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain.

The awards are testament to our team, which is continuing to grow, most recently with our commitment to hiring 10 new apprentices.

While we absolutely agree that our people are our greatest asset, we also have to continuously appraise how new processes and technology can enhance business performance, and that has led to our embracing

Building Information Modelling (BIM).

When undertaking a review of the opportunities within the wider con-struction sector, we noted that the movement towards an integrated construction business using BIM was gathering pace, but did not incorpo-rate the building refurbishment sec-tor in which we operate, and where there was a definite requirement to service the needs of our existing and potential clients.

Working in partnership with Tees-side University, we put together a business case to develop this niche and gained funding from Innovate UK for a Knowledge Transfer Partner-ship post to develop this project, inte-grating into the existing ERP and business management systems with-in the company.

Early this year, Teesside University graduate Kin Ma joined the team. He acts as a conduit, transferring knowl-edge from the university into the

company. He is a BA Hons (1st class) graduate in interior architecture and design and, as an undergraduate, was part of the team which won Best use of BIM for Sustainability or Con-structability for the “Build Sydney Live” competition.

Kin has undertaken a company-wide evaluation of our needs and the recommendations and guidance that we have received will be of significant

benefit to our business and our cus-tomers.

Meanwhile, our guiding principles of honesty, decency and integrity are highlighted via our commitment to new initiatives such as our internal social values committee, the Be Fair Framework, in conjunction with Con-sulting Excellence and the Consider-ate Constructors Scheme.

All of this activity will merge seam-

lessly with our own guiding princi-ples when it comes to respecting the community, protecting the environ-ment, safety and caring for the work-force.

We have set solid foundations for the future, both with our commit-ment to developing our team and to the implementation of new technolo-gies that will enable us to continually enhance our performance.

Creating a model businesswith BIMJohn Sayers, managing director, Hodgson Sayers

Finance manager at Hodgson Sayers, Mike Wade, left, with managing director John Sayers and graduate Kin Ma >


It was a privilege for me to address Ward Hadaway’s Fastest 50 awards last week. It showcases and cele-

brates the success, talent and innova-tion of the region’s fastest-growing firms.

I want to see even more businesses in the North East thrive, and see the region fulfil its undoubted and untapped potential. The 50 firms col-lecting awards show what can be achieved with enterprise and hard-work.

But I believe the list could be big-ger, and companies here have a unique opportunity to see their busi-ness and the North East economy go full steam ahead. A lot has been said about the Northern Powerhouse, but I firmly believe the North East’s lead-ers have much to offer and there is a closing window of opportunity to really shape the region’s future.

Business can shape this agenda by getting involved and showing the leadership that has seen them create jobs and growth which keeps the economy moving.

The Northern Powerhouse agenda has seen a lot of progress over recent weeks: the “unpausing” of plans to invest in trans-Pennine rail links, a shake-up of the business rates system

and a deal to transfer funding powers to the Sheffield City Region.

But it may not be so prominent for much longer. A devolution deal with Scotland needs to be done, which will have implications for the North, and a London mayoral contest next year is likely to see more powers for City Hall. If the North East and its busi-ness leaders don’t stand up and be counted, we could be squeezed by these two massive forces and see the Northern Powerhouse sidelined.

We know what is needed to deliver a truly thriving Northern economy. In the North it’s skills, innovation and

infrastructure. Government invests just 7% of its R&D budget in the North.

Despite the existence of seven Rus-sell Group universities plus countless other sectoral strengths, the lion’s share of innovation investment is pumped into the Golden triangle. There may be a case for this on the grounds of cost benefit – but business doesn’t think so. At IPPR North, we have shown that if government was to match the levels of private investment in R&D in the North of England it would need to double its current investment. It’s a similar story on

infrastructure. In London, planned spend on transport infrastructure per head is £2,604. In the North East, it is just £314. We know that connectivity is critical to a thriving regional econ-omy. There is scope to commit at least £1bn a year to Northern Powerhouse projects in this spending period, and £50bn on rail and roads over the course of the next spending period and Control Period 6.

The Spending Review represents a really important opportunity for the chancellor to put his money where his mouth is. And this is where I think the North East’s businesses can make a difference, speaking with one voice and knocking political heads together to finally unlock these key invest-ments and devolution of powers.

Ultimately, it is not for IPPR North to judge the decisions made by local and combined authorities as to how they have approached the process of striking devolution deals, and we wait to see how things progress here.

I would love to see more city-regional mayors but coercion and brinkmanship from the government is not the way to go about it.

Equally, I think it is sad that local politicians are not able to put the good of the whole ahead of the paro-chial interests of its different parts. It becomes much harder to argue for a

rebalancing of economic develop-ment policy towards the North East when we are pulling in different directions.

Our great Victorian cities and ports were founded on a strong civic lead-ership, but business leadership was vital too. Indeed, civic leadership was often exercised by local business leaders. Speaking with one voice makes a powerful difference. But you need to do this more consistently and more frequently. It is your combined voice that really counts.

Here in the North East it is to make sure that Greater Manchester is held to account; nationally, your voice must not let George Osborne set the agenda for our Northern Power-house.

And globally, our voice must make sure that our Northern economy can compete not with London – none of us want to live like that – but with some of the most prosperous and attractive regions in Europe and beyond.

That should be our goal. With your leadership I have every confidence we will get there.

Ed Cox is Director of IPPR North, ■the dedicated think-tank for the North, with bases in Newcastle and Manchester.

Why the Fastest 50 is only the startBy Ed Cox, Director of IPPR North

Ed Cox, Director, IPPR North >


For a business now in it’s fif-teenth year, being named as one of the region’s Fastest 50 grow-

ing businesses has a particular signifi-cance for CDM recruitment Ltd. who specialise in Construction, Property and Engineering recruitment.

Established in 2001 by Mark Bulm-er and Chris Wall, CDM recruitment Ltd has grown from a business which was set up with a couple of borrowed PCs to a market-leading recruitment brand with a projected turnover of £15 million for 2015.

operating from offices in South Tyneside, Newcastle and Leeds CDM recruitment now employs more than 35 staff and counts many of the UK’s biggest Construction and Engineer-ing names amongst it’s portfolio of clients.

Covering the entire Construction, Property and Engineering spectrum CDM source candidates on a tempo-rary and permanent basis from spe-cialist site labour through to board level appointments via it’s executive search division.

CDM has specialist recruiters dedi-cated to all sectors including Archi-tecture, Surveying, Facilities Manage-ment, Construction Professionals, M&E/Building Services, Trades and Labour, Consultancy, Housing, Civil /Structural Engineering and Manu-facturing.

Joint Managing Director of CDM, Mark Bulmer, welcomed CDM’s inclusion 2015’s Fastest 50 as an acknowledgment of the determina-tion and hard work of CDM’s dedi-cated staff. “our biggest strength is our people. Without their determina-tion, skill and work ethic our business could not grow at the current rate.

We’re also very proud of our ability to retain and develop staff in an indus-try which has a notorious “revolving door” reputation.

Almost a third of CDM’s staff have been with the business for over a dec-ade – which is a key differentiator between CDM and our competition. our clients enjoy consistent and increasingly effective service and our low staff turnover ensures we retain experience which continues to devel-op year on year.”

“We also have the benefit of work-ing with a fantastic portfolio of cli-ents, both large and small, who remain loyal to our business year after year. These key relationships have been crucial to our growth to date and we will work hard to ensure

our service and support remains sec-ond to none.”

“Looking ahead we will continue to strengthen both our business infra-structrure, we recently doubled the

footprint of our South Tyneside Head office by acquiring the adjoining building, as well as our headcount. For any recruiters interested in join-ing one of the fastest growing busi-nesses in the region, we have imme-diate opportunities across our network of offices. ”

About CDM Recruitment LtdEst. in 2001, CDM recruitment

provides recruitment services to the Construction, Engineering, Energy & related industries.

CDM recruitment are a £15m turn-over business with offices across the North of England.

Each year we service thousands of temporary and permanent roles across our core markets.

our enviable client portfolio is a testament to the quality & diversity of our recruitment services and the exceptional relationships we have built with local, regional and national

clients. Through championing the highest

standards of recruitment best prac-tise in both our client & candidate relationships we endeavour to lead by example in order to promote & enhance not just the reputation of CDM but also the reputation of the recruitment industry overall.

Specialist divisions include: Construction Management ■Engineering ■M&E ■Trades & Labour ■Facilities Management ■Architecture ■Surveying ■Civil & Structural ■Subsea ■

Our service provision covers all aspects of recruitment including:

Temporary ■Permanent ■Executive Search ■research & Market intelligence ■

Accreditations: Institute of recruitment ■

Professionals (IrP) Advocate Status rEC Members ■ISo 9001 Accredited ■ISo 14001 Accredited ■SSIP Work Safe Accredited ■Construction Line Accredited ■

If you are interested in working ■for or with CDM please call Mark Bulmer on (0191) 4692409 or email: [email protected]

Fastest 50 listing arrives as CDM celebrates 15 years

Our biggest strength is our people. Without their determination, skill and work ethic, our business could not grow at the current rate

Mark Bulmer

Leeds office of CDM Recruitment Ltd > Paul Groom

South Tyneside office of CDM Recruitment Ltd >

Chris Wall, CDM Recruitment Ltd >

Mark Bulmer of CDM Recruitment >Ltd



Techflow Marine celebrate winning the Fastest Growing Large Business and Overall Fastest Growing Business. From left: Non-Executive Director Colin Fitzpatrick, Sales Director Ken Beattie and >Directors Graham Clark and Jim Straker.

Brett Jacobson, Managing Director of MediaWorks (centre) accepts the com- >pany’s award for Fastest Growing Small Business from Ed Cox of IPPR North (left) and Colin Hewitt of Ward Hadaway.

Phil Cambers, Commercial Director of SITS Group (centre), winners of the >Fastest Growing Medium-Sized Business with Ed Cox (left) and Colin Hewitt.

inform advise trainwork with

youwww.acas.org.uk

An engaged workforce is a productive one. Take time to invest in yourstaff through training and engagement.

Acas provide a variety of training and business solutions across allaspects of employment relations which will cover a wide range of yourorganisational and people management needs and will unlock thepotential for greater productivity.

From recruitment, people management, discipline and grievance andsupervisory skills to more advanced training such as conflictmanagement, mediation, developing high performance teams andmanaging change.

To find out more about Acas training and courses to suit your needscontact us on 0300 123 1150 or visit www.acas.org.uk/training

Productivity through people

A Northern law firmWard Hadaway are immensely proud of our roots in the North East. For over 25 years, we have been supporting businesses in our region through good times and bad. Our commitment to the North East remains unwavering as a Northern law firm for national business.


“Clients note that ‘the firm has an excellent cross-section of lawyers, the resources to cope with tight timescales and is excellent value for money - we trust it to come with the goods on any legal matter” CHAMBERS & PARTNERS LEGAL DIRECTORY

www.wardhadaway.com @WardHadaway

Fastest 50 Awards 2015 - Techflow Marine...Graeme said businesses in the Fast - est 50 were the real...

Documents

Transcript of Fastest 50 Awards 2015 - Techflow Marine...Graeme said businesses in the Fast - est 50 were the real...