< Previous30 Business Link www.blmforum.net CORPORATE FINANCE but it may not be the correct one. A truth that few like to acknowledge is that if a company is so sensitive to trading conditions that it can suffer, then perhaps it is time to re-think things and see if that can’t be fixed. Or, if it can’t, if it might not be time to put the business up for sale. The question therefore becomes, should you inject more money into a business to keep it afloat, or look to cash out? Nowadays, many people do not think kindly on selling their company. The idea seems to be that those who founded it should see it through to the end, bitter or not, but the reality is that any business owner likely founded their company for one reason and one reason only – money. There may have been other benefits such as being your own boss or the pride involved, but financial reasons and a better lifestyle make up the main reasons, and those should be kept in mind in difficult times. With the uncertain state of the economy and conditions ever worsening, along with the great resignation and skills shortages in several industries, it may be that a daunting time lays ahead for many, and that selling the business on to another that can steer it through said waters would be better for everyone involved. It’s not a question of quality of leadership despite how personal a decision it may feel. Larger companies can better consolidate and use resources to keep their assets stable, while SMEs and family-run businesses especially may struggle. This has become no less troublesome a matter with securing finance being so difficult of late. When everyone is struggling, banks are less likely to lend money, and even then, they will be looking for that finance to be invested in securing more business, not propping up a poor cash flow. Securing finance is again easier for larger firms with more assets to bring to bear. It is always better to try and sell a business when it is succeeding, and that may be a deterrence for some, but poor cash flow due to outside influences does not necessarily mean a weak business. It might be just what investors are looking for, especially if you can show that the company has and can be profitable when everything is not conspiring against it. Of course, in that situation it might be more tempting to try and bring the company through the struggle yourself, either to keep it under control or sell at an even more profitable juncture. If cash flow is the problem, then there are really only a few ways to solve it in the short term – firstly, to secure finance to alleviate the issue, be it through bank loans, sale of shares or alternative methods such as angel investors or crowdfunding. Or, the second approach, is to focus on turning invoices into cash. Our region has a major problem currently with late payments, forming a culture of it in some places – especially with certain Govt bodies being the worst at paying on time. Shortening agreements on payment clauses could help improve cashflow quickly, but there may also be money to be found in selling your invoices to factoring companies. These businesses will purchase and chase your invoices for you, paying you a smaller percentage of the sale in exchange for them taking on the delay and the risk. This is lost profit at the end of the day, but if customers are being inexcusably slow or if the cash flow needs immediate attention, it is a short-term solution to bring in some quick money. The risk with factoring, and something that should be addressed if you are considering using it, is that it comes with stigma attached. To make their own money, factoring companies naturally are quite aggressive in hunting invoices and late payers, and while those people certainly should pay, and are required by law to do so, they may associate those aggressive tactics with your own company. This could lead to customers not wishing to do business with you in the future or feeling like you have “set the hounds” on them for being a little late on their bills. 28-31.qxp_Layout 1 07/03/2022 11:44 Page 3#FindOutInFifteen Book a meeting at https://calendly.com/ simon-bulteel/ discovery-ylbl GET YOUR CASH FROM HMRC Call COODEN TAX CONSULTING NOW! Our #FindOutInFifteen promotion will allow you to have a no obligation discussion with our director, Simon Bulteel to determine whether your company has a project that is worthy of a claim for Research and Development Tax Credits, go to https://calendly.com/simon-bulteel/discovery-ylbl Call us on: 01424 225 345 | email us on: info@coodentaxconsulting.co.uk @CoodenConsults | www.coodentaxconsulting.co.uk www.blmforum.net Business Link 31 CORPORATE FINANCE Ultimately, it is a matter of each business individually to decide what needs to be done and what problems there are, but if the last few years have taught us anything it is that the market has not been stable, and that it may not become stable again for a while. Worse, this may be the new standard that we have to get used to. Before, it has always been tempting to bury our heads in the sand and assure ourselves that things will get better, easier, but after so long it may be time to wake up and realise that isn’t the case. It’s time for businesses in our region to consider the long-term, take a good look at their finances and make sure that a business treading water is going to be able to swim at the end of it, or if you’re just bailing water out of a slowly sinking ship. © stock.adobe.com/tashatuvango 28-31.qxp_Layout 1 07/03/2022 11:44 Page 432 Business Link www.blmforum.net MATERIALS AND COMPONENTS 32-35.qxp_Layout 1 07/03/2022 11:45 Page 1www.blmforum.net Business Link 33 MATERIALS AND COMPONENTS © stock.adobe.com/Halfpoint M aterials and components is a polarising industry that incorporates many different extremes and requirements. The material used to produce a disposable coffee cup for instance is judged based on its affordability, with a replacement within arm’s reach should one tumble off a table. The requirements of a key piece of machinery in a nuclear reactor or manufacturing line will be much more stringent. There, failure is not an option – or it will at least be an incredibly rare occurrence. What is needed for one purpose will differ greatly from what is needed for another, and this sometimes means there are few things unifying the industry other than the state of the economy. That has changed in recent years, however. The most prevalent push within the materials and components industry today is the drive toward clean energy – driven in no small part by COP26 last year, but also reinforced by the IPCC report that came out this month. The future, according to the report, is grim, and countries across the world are expected to try their best to work on green initiatives. In the UK, the Government has put forward its Net Zero pledge, which will place a requirement for all non-residential buildings to have an EPC rating of B or better by the year 2027. This, among many other drives, will have profound effects on the materials and components industry, as the definitions and requirements of materials needed for any construction project in the future may subtly shift toward greener materials, or those that can insulate and keep heat more efficiently. green Build it Construction materials have ever been binary, but COP26 and the Government’s Net Zero pledge will put a change to that no matter what the industry wants. 34 Á 32-35.qxp_Layout 1 07/03/2022 11:46 Page 234 Business Link www.blmforum.net MATERIALS AND COMPONENTS Net-Zero pledges will also effect companies bidding for Govt contracts in our region, with news at COP26 last year stating that any business wishing to bid for a government contract worth more than £5 million a year, must commit to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050. This is no small task and one that has many construction companies scratching their hard-hats in doubt. There is little at the moment that can be done to make construction machinery any more energy efficient or green than it already is, so businesses are naturally having to turn to materials themselves. Autoclaved concrete and calcium silicates are becoming high-demand construction materials of late due to their high strength and robustness combined with strong heat and sound insulation properties. This naturally means that they trap heat, reducing a building’s reliance on other carbon-emitting forms of heating. That said, the material still does create carbon emissions in its production, and businesses are ever on the look for the next big thing, the better alternative. Hemp and bamboo, long having been used across the world, are two materials that are being investigated in further detail. At the moment, the limits of science aren’t providing for limestone- free autoclaved concrete, but that, too, is an avenue that some are exploring. In the short-term recycling of construction material is a stopgap solution to the problem – both for concrete and other materials. The construction industry is known as one of the major contributors to climate change, and from April 2022 it may become mandatory for them to disclose reports of their climate risk and how much carbon they produce. The UK’s 32-35.qxp_Layout 1 07/03/2022 11:46 Page 3www.blmforum.net Business Link 35 MATERIALS AND COMPONENTS construction industry alone is predicted to contribute some 13.5 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. One method that companies in the industry are pushing is for greater levels of off-site fabrication to be taken into account, wherein materials and components are fabricated and put-together away from the building site, then brought to it and installed directly. While this may not seem like a great saving, the reductions in waste are significant, and having that waste at a fabrication site as opposed to a construction site means it can more easily be recycled, as opposed to being scraped up as waste trash. There are more developments outside our region that may come in. German company Elegant have produced a material used in building cladding that is reported to absorb pollution, a very-real carbon-negative material that contains atmospheric Co2. Meanwhile, Levenseat have produced a new stream of aggregate products made using incinerator bottom ash, which are both sustainable and lower cost. These have earned “end of waste” status from Scotland’s environmental regulator, making them safe and sustainable to use on construction projects. The momentum from COP26 is something that more construction companies in our region need to work on, because they will become mandatory by law for anyone wanting to work on government contracts, and that may well be a precursor to further regulations down the line, perhaps even those affecting companies on private contracts as well. Whatever the case, those businesses already adapting and researching new and green materials are sure to reap the benefits as everyone else scurries to comply. © stock.adobe.com/kuchina 32-35.qxp_Layout 1 07/03/2022 11:46 Page 436 Business Link www.blmforum.net CORPORATE HOSPITALITY C orporate events are a fundamental aspect of business that undoubtedly represent a great resource for companies to interact with their clients and build trusting relationships. They are a way of promoting good customer service through hospitality, but they also are a way of encouraging networking and connections in a relaxed environment. There are so many types of activity and event that can be planned, like conferences, exhibitions, trade shows, award ceremonies, gala dinners, launches, congresses, and company meetings; deciding which one is more appropriate for your business solely depends on your objectives and what type of benefits you are trying to achieve from the event. Corporate events are a legitimate way to encourage business opportunities even outside the traditional work environments, they are amazing opportunities for businesses to create new networks and strengthen old ones, they are a very personal and distinctive way of getting in touch with clients and consumers and giving them a way and a reason to trust your business, engage with it and stick with it. But they are also expensive to organise, which is why often companies cannot afford to dedicate part of their budgets to corporate hospitality. Ideally you want the event not just to go well, but to generate good return on investments and increase your company’s profits, so you want to make sure your budget is utilised in the best and most successful way possible, and one way to achieve that goal is making sure your guests are provided with a unique experience. The success of a corporate event solely depends on what attendees are left with when they leave, if the event did not provide them with a positive, interesting experience, they will feel very underwhelmed not just about the event itself, but the business too. Therefore, it is extremely important to organise the right type of event, but also to make sure the event planned is experiential. Experiential means that the event needs to engage directly, deeply and personally with the target audience. People need to feel immerged in the experience, willing to take part in it, interact with it and even emotionally connect with it; but in order to do so, it has to be the event that engages, interacts and connects with the audience first. Invest time and resources in thoroughly planning your experience and think about what your audience will relate to and engage with. An experience is meant to be unforgettable and extraordinary, but also relevant to the It’s the experience that matters Corporate events are excellent growing opportunities for businesses as they allow companies to increase and implement their networks and consolidate trusts between them and their clients. Planning exceptional, experiential events for guests can improve that relationship even further, and help creating an even deeper connection between the company and clients. 36-37.qxp_Layout 1 07/03/2022 11:47 Page 1www.blmforum.net Business Link 37 CORPORATE HOSPITALITY people attending the event; a successful event needs to reflect both the values of the business but also the interests of the attendees, so make sure to incorporate those elements in the planning and the activities are relevant to both the business and the attendees’ benefits. There are many businesses that offer corporate hospitality experiences and it is not difficult to find experiences suitable for all kinds of audience; from dinners and galas, to escape rooms, cooking classes, wine tastings, zoo days out, sporting events, hot air balloon rides, sailing days and all sorts of extreme activities for the most adventurous people, companies really have a wide selection of options to pick from. Don’t be afraid to push it and make the experience as extreme and memorable as possible, extreme catches people’s attention, but also remember to cater your guests’ interests, so don’t make the experience extreme only for the sake of making it memorable. You can organise the most exciting activity, but if it doesn’t engage with your audience, the event will be a failure. Gamifying the experience can also be a good idea to promote interaction between clients and the business; letting attendees feel part of the event, interact with it and play with it will boost engagement and will overall strengthen the connection that makes an event feel like an experience. Another element to consider is making your event so extraordinary, it will be social media friendly. Giving attendees a reason to post pictures of your event online will provide your business with further marketing opportunities; the more people will know about your company and what exciting events you plan, the more people will be interested and will be more prone to engage with the business. It is always good habit asking attendees to provide you with some feedback about the event. The information will be very useful and valuable in order to address attendance, engagement and can be used to help with the planning of all next corporate events and improve the experience for both the organising company and all future guests and attendees. A corporate event itself is a unique opportunity for businesses and clients to strengthen their relationship and build more trust between one another, but if a company really wants to bring the business-client interaction to another level it might be worth transforming the simple corporate event into a full, memorable experience that can create a deeper, emotional connection with the clients and generate a long-term relationship that will benefit both. © stock.adobe.com/Sunshine Seeds © stock.adobe.com/primipil © stock.adobe.com/Anton Gvozdikov 36-37.qxp_Layout 1 07/03/2022 11:47 Page 238 Business Link www.blmforum.net AUTOLINK March BMW 2 Series Coupé Striking looks, exceptional handling and classical rear- wheel drive will leave potential customers of the new BMW 2 Series Coupé in no doubt that this is a car to excite and inspire. The new generation of the two-door model incorporates the new BMW design language to highlight a fresh, youthful feel with meticulously engineered and perfectly balanced driving attributes. Reaffirming its sector-leading status, the BMW 2 Series Coupé boasts rear-wheel drive, a six-cylinder in- line engine option and new equipment features that BMW 2 Series Coupé combine to underscore its standout sporting characteristics. The advances made over the predecessor model are also reflected in a far broader range of driver assistance systems and the latest connectivity innovations. Vauxhall Grandland The New Grandland is built on Vauxhall’s Efficient Modular Platform 2 (EMP2) – a multi-energy platform that supports both electrification as well as advanced petrol and diesel powertrains, which are manufactured at the Eisenach facility on the same line for superior production efficiency. Luxury motors breaking the bank aren’t the be all and end all, and sometimes, whether it be for personal use or company cars, we need something a little more economical. Here are some new motors coming out that won’t break the bank nor will they damage any company’s reputation. 38-40.qxp_Layout 1 07/03/2022 11:49 Page 1www.blmforum.net Business Link 39 AUTOLINK 40 Á Vauxhall Grandland From launch, customers will be able to choose between petrol, diesel, or plug-in HYBRID-e powertrains. Plug-in HYBRID-e models are capable of up to 39 miles in all- electric mode (EAER)1 (WLTP) and achieve overall CO2 emissions as low as 31g/ km, making them ideal for business users with a benefit-in-kind (BiK) rate of 11% (2021-2022) and 12% (2022-2023). Renault Rive Gauche Renault has made its award-winning Captur even more of an attractive proposition with the addition of the highly distinctive Rive Gauche. Sitting next to the R.S. Line trim at the top of the range, the Rive Gauche stands out from its Captur stablemates with an array of eye-catching design elements, both externally and within its inviting interior. Its elegant style pays homage to its namesake, the special edition’s title coming from the southern bank of the River Seine in Paris with Rive Gauche translating to “left bank” in French. Only 800 of the Rive Gauche are destined for the UK, the Renault Rive Gauche 38-40.qxp_Layout 1 07/03/2022 11:49 Page 2Next >