“Innovation” can be a source of excitement or a frustrationand sometimes both. What iscertain is that innovation or anadaption of an idea fromanother area can createcompetitive advantage, awidened product range and anenhanced profile.

I think few would argue “innovation”has been a core ingredient inApple’s success; their new productshave created markets and redefinedthe way their customers interactwith technology.

Google consider it so important thatthey allow their staff an innovationday a week to work on “their ownideas”. Innovation is clearly anessential within the technologyindustry but can the same be saidfor other industries such as food,banking or property?

In the food industry packaginginnovations such as the tetrapackhave led to extended shelf life thathave resulted in a plethora of newproducts being possible, new flavourinnovations have led to newpremium crisp brands and snacksand distribution innovations haveresulted in the spectacular growthin fresh food ranges.

In property and banking innovationhas a somewhat “mixed” track

record; it is true that propertyinnovat ion has led to newarchitectural styles, new types ofbuilding and in banking we nowhave products such as ISAs, trackermortgages, fixed and capped rateloans. The difficulty comes indeciding whether the innovationsare essential to success or not.After speaking with a number of ourclients their consensus appears tobe: failing to innovate in areas suchas the above would have resultedin a “choice not to compete” in thoseareas. Some areas are sufficientlyniche not to cause a concernhowever others have been sosignificant that they provided theinnovator with a signif icantadvantage.

On the flip side they were also ableto quote examples where theinnovation was implemented poorlyor abused and where they wishedit had not taken place. The use ofsecuritisation vehicles to move onsubprime loans was perhaps themost significant example.

So if we define “Innovation” as thedevelopment or improvement of anew or existing product or serviceto improve the strategic strength ofthe organization” (i.e. we focus onthe positive innovations)The key questions might become:

1. How do you ident i fymeaningful innovations2. How do you develop andlaunch them successfully3. What innovations might beadapted from another sector4. How do you manage the risks(to ensure they are not abused)5. How do you best realise thebenefits.

Innovating can be a frustratingprocess, yet it is likely that theproblems you face in innovatinghave been faced and solved byothers and that an ‘outside in’perspective can see the scope forcreating a solution using experiencein other sectors. Working acrossdifferent market sectors we havethe breadth and imagination to helpso if you would like to discuss howwe can make innovation a realityd r o p m e a n e m a i l a t :neil@rocketperformancegroup.co.uk

ECO

NO

MIC

UPD

ATE

Economic andMarket Overviewas at August 1st 2010

“Is innovation a nice tohave or an essentialingredient forsuccess?...

Regards

Neil WardTel: 07711 197058Email:neil@rocketperformance.co.uk

ECO

NO

MIC

UPD

ATE

Lender Aug ‘09 CommentsSVR

Halifax 3.5%

Nationwide BS 3.99% (SMR) 2.5% (BMR)

Santander UK 4.24%

Lloyds TSB/C&G 3.99%

Northern Rock 9.79%

Barclays (Woolwich) 2.49%

RBS 4.00%

HSBC 3.94%

CPI (May) 3.2% Down from 3.4% in May.

RPI (May) 5.0% Down from 5.1% in May.

Employment Qtr to May 2010 72.3% Slight rise in this qtr to May 2010

Unemployment Qtr to May 20107.8% Slight fall over the quarter

BoE Base Rate 0.5% As of 05/03/09 (no change this month).

LIBOR (GBP 3M BBA) 0.73719% Rate continues to rise.

Crude Oil $76.96 a barrel Prices have risen this month.

Gold $1185.900 per oz. Prices down this month.

Key Economic Data Summaryas at 21/07/10

Average House Price £166,203

Monthly Change (0.6%)

Average Change 6.3%

National House Price Index June 2010(source Lloyds Banking Group as at 08/07/10)

Lender APR NotesSainsbury's Finance 10.0% 8.8% for Sainsburys Nectar card holders

Tesco Personal Finance 8.9% No changeSantander UK 8.9% No changePost Office 9.9% No changeNat West/RBS 12.9% No change

M & S 12.9% Borrowers have to be a UK resident aged 30or over or a house owner

Halifax 19.9% Loans available to existing Halifax customersonly.

HSBC 17.9% New higher rate for lower advaceLloyds TSB 13.9% Llods TSB customers onlyBarclays Bank 10.9% Barclays customers onlyClydesdale / Yorkshire Bank 20.9% Significantly higher rate for lower loansAA Personal Loans 8.9% to 15.3% Loans available from £7.5k to £14.95kCo-Op Bank 12.9% No change

Personal Loan Rates (as of 21/07/10) - Ratessourced from lenders websites on 21/07/10 - Based upon £5K (unlessnoted) over 36 months ex insurance and subject to underwriting

Mortgage Costs - Standard VariableRates (SVR) (as of 25/06/10)Rates sourced from www.lovemoney and lenders websites on 24/06/10- rates may be subject to value levels and underwriting.

Standard Mortgage Rate (SMR) is 3.99% however Nationwide customers withdeals reserved on or before 29 April 2009 will revert to the variable Base MortgageRate (BMR) which is currently 2.5%

From 1 June, new borrowers, or current ones who switch deals, will have to revertto an SVR without any ceiling, currently set at 3.99%. The decision does notaffect borrowers with Halifax and Bank of Scotland.

Barclays Base Rate 2.49% typically caries an additional m1.99% premium onproducts

General Market NewsConsumers Repay Rather Than Borrowing(BBC 23/07/10)BBA figures show thatconsumers' safety-first approach to unsecuredborrowing has continued throughout the year. Repayment of consumer credit hasoutstripped new borrowing by 2.7% over thepast year. Borrowing on credit cards rose by£120m in June, but repayments of personalloans and overdrafts outstripped newborrowing by £314m. New lending in personalloans was 19% lower than a year ago.

UK interest rates to stay at record low 'until 2014'(www.bbc.co.uk)

The Bank of England has kept UK interestrates on hold at a record low of 0.5% for the16th consecutive month. The Bank's MonetaryPolicy Committee (MPC) also decided not toinject any more money into the economyunder its policy of quantitative easing (QE).

UK unemployment falls to 2.47 million

The number of people unemployed in the UKfell by 34,000 to 2.47m in the three monthsto May, official figures show. That took thejobless rate to 7.8%, the lowest for a year,the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.The number of people in work rose by 160,000in the three months to May, the biggest risesince August 2006. However, the increasewas due to a record 148,000 rise in the numberof part-time workers, while full-time workersincreased by just 12,000. The ONS said thepercentage of workers in part-time jobs was27%, its highest since records began in 1992.

Credit card market back open for businessSource: Moneyfacts.co.uk 7.6.10

The credit card market has seen a resurgencein recent months as card providers onceagain put the ‘open for business’ sign in thewindow. In the last year the number of cardscharging no interest on new purchases forat least 10 months has increased by 450%. In the same period, the number of cardsoffering 0% on balance transfers for at least10 months has increased by 20%.

However, interest rates charged on cardscontinue to increase, with the average creditcard rate today standing at 18.7% APR. Sincethe start of the year the following providershave increased rates for new customers:Barclaycard – rates increased by up to2.0%Capital One Bank – rate increased by 5.0%Egg – rate increased by 1.0%MBNA Europe Bank – rate increased by1.0%Sygma Bank – rate increased by 2.0%

All Right Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher Rocket Performance Group. This report has been created to provide a summary overview of the market environmentfor property development. All information is believed to be correct at the time of publication, in so far as it summarises the topics at a very high level it cannot be guaranteed. Pleasenote that all information is provided in good faith, whose accuracy we are not always in a position to guarantee. As such Rocket Performance Group can accept no liability whatsoeverfor actions taken based on any information that may subsequently prove to be incorrect. © Rocket Performance Group 2010

The Rocket Performance Group

ECO

NO

MIC

UPD

ATE

Rocket Marketing AssociatesLanark, Scotland

Rocket Training & DevelopmentRoss-on-Wye

Rocket Corporate DevelopmentBeaconsfield

Email: info@rocketperformance.co.uk www.rocketperformance.co.uk

In Marketing, PublicRelations, Training &Developmenta n d C o r p o r a t eDevelopment

Our three distinct businessdiscipl ines share onecommon goal - to give ourclients a performanceedge

After many years inc o r p o r a t e b u s i n e s sleadership, we struggled tofind the type of resultsfocused, entrepreneurialpeople who could make thetype of positive contributionswe were looking for to driveour businesses forward.P e o p l e w h o w e r eknowledgeable, energetic,results focused and fun towork with, people we couldtrust as friends.

To create such a supportservice was our goal andnow seven years on wecontinue to grow remainingtrue to this original vision.Across the UK, Europe andbeyond we are proud to bem a k i n g a v a l u e dc o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h ebusinesses and above allpeople with whom we work. F r o m t r a i n i n g a n ddevelopment, through publicrelations and marketing andon to major corporatedeve lopment we aredelighted to share ourexpertise, energy andresults focus.

We love what we do and ourpassion comes through ineverything we do.

"We Bring Focus toDeliver Results"

Halifax House Index Key Facts• House prices fell by 0.6% in June. This followed a 0.5%

decline in May.

• Prices in the second quarter of 2010 were 0.1% lower than in the first quarter of 2010. This continued the slowdown in the pace of house price growth since the beginning of the year and compared with a 0.6% rise in 2010 Quarter 1.

• House prices in June were 6.3% higher on an annual basis as measured by the average for the latest three months against the same period a year earlier. This was below the 6.9% increase in May, which was the highest since October 2007 (8.9%).

• Prices are 7.5% above their April 2009 trough despite the modest decline over the past few months. The average house price is now

£166,203; 17% below its August 2007 peak.

• The increase in the number of properties for sale is curbing the upward pressure on house prices. Estate agents have reported a sharp increase in instructions from new vendors following the recentabolition of HIPs, reinforcing the recent trend as more homeownershave been encouraged to sell following the improvement in house prices in 2009. The ratio of house sales to the stock of unsold properties on surveyors' books fell for the fifth time in the past six months in May. (Source: RICS monthly survey, May 2010.) The easing in this ratio indicates a moderate loosening in market conditions,reducing the support for house prices.

• Housing market activity has eased. Bank of England industry-widefigures show that the number of mortgages approved to finance house purchase – a leading indicator of completed house sales – were largely unchanged between April and May, at a seasonally adjusted 49,800. Approvals in the three months to May, however, were 3% lower than in the preceding three months, indicating a modest softening in housing market activity.

• In separate research, Halifax has found that the cost of owning andrunning a home in the UK has declined by 6% over the past two years. Between April 2008 and April 2010, the average annual costassociated with owning and running a home fell by £544 from £9,564to £9,020. In real terms (i.e. after allowing for retail price inflation), the cost of housing has fallen by 9%. Housing costs in the UK are now equivalent to 27% of gross average full-time earnings, down from 30% in 2008.

• The fall in the cost of housing since 2008 has been driven by a 19%(£881) decline in mortgage payments (interest and capital repayments).The average mortgage rate paid by existing borrowers fell by 2.13 percentage points between April 2008 and April 2010 from 5.80% to3.67%.