Carpenter Box raises £82,000 for local charities in centenary year

Sussex-based Carpenter Box has raised £82,000 in the accountancy firm’s 100th year to support charities working with vulnerable people across the county.

The practice, which has offices in Worthing, Brighton, Chichester, Crawley and London, smashed its original target of raising £50,000 for its Carpenter Box Charitable Foundation (CBCF) – and was delighted to hand over initial donations at an event bringing the centenary year to a close.

Among the recipients who shared £30,000 in donations, were education charity Red Balloon, West Sussex MIND, homeless charity Turning Tides, all based in Worthing, and Crawley Open House, which provides a hostel for 55 people every night. In the coming months, the CBCF will also provide donations to more than 30 local community and voluntary groups supporting some of the most vulnerable people in society.

John Billings, Senior Partner at Carpenter Box, was thrilled with the success of fundraising efforts, commenting: “My sincere thanks go out to all our people for their commitment and creativity in making 2023 a fitting celebration of our firm’s 100 years in business.

“We were clear at the outset that in our centenary year we wanted to support the work of local charities focused on poverty, community and opportunity – and through the support from our sponsors and the endeavours of our staff in raising £82,000, far exceeding our initial target, we know that many disadvantaged people will now be helped to live their best possible lives.”

The Carpenter Box fundraising activities ranged from lobbing sponges at Partners, a LGTBQIA+ gaymes day, sponsored walks and a book swap.

Since its inception in 2009, the Carpenter Box Charitable Foundation has raised over £350,000 in support of local grass roots charities that often find fundraising challenging.

Caption: Photo shows (l-r): Back row – John Billings, Carpenter Box Senior Partner; Alan Edwards, Managing Partner; Ian Wilkins, Crawley Open House; Front – Debbie Watkins, West Sussex MIND; Nick Munday, Red Balloon; Sue Harris, Turning Tides; and Robin Evans, Partner and CBCF Trustee.

www.carpenterbox.com

Check out Pro-Actions Business Workshop Programme

As a small business owner do you find it challenging to rise above everyday operations and focus on strategic planning and long-term growth? A Pro-actions Business Workshop Programme is like having your own board of directors; a pool of experienced colleagues there to help you, guide you and assist you in growing your business. It is a proven methodology consisting of strategies and techniques which will help you achieve more results in less time.

The Pro-actions Mini MBA
Our workshops are facilitated by experienced coaches who have learnt the lessons the hard way – in the school of real, practical business. The programme consists of 12, monthly sessions that provide a business owner and / or key team members with a complete understanding of core business disciplines. A workshop will have up to 10 non competing businesses and will involve presentation, group discussion, and both individual and group working.

Key to success is the “homework”, with an expectation that attendees will begin to put the principles discussed at the workshops into practice between sessions. Each new workshop offers an opportunity for the sharing of experiences, successes and challenges from putting principle into practice.

“ Our delegates typically find that during the programme they see a marked increase in revenue, growth and confidence"

Seize the opportunity to improve results and grow your business now! Business Workshops are about driving results. You get continuous, accelerated, practical support & insights that you can put into practice immediately. Move quickly as places are limited.

Just £250 + VAT per month or alternately £2500 + VAT if paid in advance for the year.

For more information visit https://pro-actions.com/business-workshops/

SGN Gas Network Upgrades in the A24 Worthing

Starting on Monday 8 January, our contractors DJ Utilities will begin work to replace the gas main along the A24 and Sompting Avenue in Worthing. This work will involve the replacement of old metal gas pipes with new plastic pipes to ensure we can continue to provide the local community with a safe and efficient gas supply. The section of gas main being replaced has a history of gas leaks that have resulted in disruptive emergency works. Replacing this pipe is the only option to provide a permanent solution. These works are essential. Due to the location of the gas main in the A24, for everyone’s safety, we'll need to use a variety of traffic management measures during our work.

Phase one – A24 lane closures From Monday 8 January 2024 for approximately six weeks.

Engineers will be working along the A24 in the centre two lanes from the junction of Queen Street to opposite Bohunt School. For everyone's safety, we'll need to close one lane southbound and one lane northbound. We will also need to close Queen Street and Georgia Avenue at their junction with the A24. This will mean no access in or out of these roads onto the A24.

Phase two – A24 lane closures
From Monday 19 February for approximately six weeks.

We will continue to work on the A24 in the centre two lanes from the junction of the Bohunt School entrance to the junction of Sompting Avenue and Carnegie Road. For everyone's safety, we will need to close one lane southbound and one lane northbound. During this phase, Sompting Avenue will be made one-way eastbound only between the junctions of A24 and Beaumont Road. Traffic from Carnegie Road will only be able to turn left onto the A24.

Phase three – Sompting Avenue
From approximately Tuesday 2 April for approximately ten weeks.

We will be working on Sompting Avenue from the junctions of the A24 to Beaumont Road. Sompting Avenue will remain one-way eastbound only between the junctions of the A24 and Beaumont Road.

We appreciate our work will be disruptive for road users and the local community and we're sorry for the inconvenience these essential works may cause. Thank you for your patience and understanding

You can find the latest updates on our project page at https://sgn.co.uk/our-gas-works/majorplanned-projects/worthing-a24-and-sompting-avenue

A regular weekly update will also be given to local Councillors and local authorities to share with their networks.

If you have any questions, please contact our Customer Service team at customer@sgn.co.uk or by calling 0800 912 1700 – they will direct your enquiry to a member of the team for a response

Introducing Chichester College's new Employer Guide 2024/25

In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, the core asset of any successful enterprise is undoubtedly its people. At the Chichester College Group, we recognise this and we are committed to ensuring we are responsive to the needs of local, regional, and national employers.

As a group, we are renowned for our wide range of vocational and academic programmes, and employer engagement initiatives, we take pride in shaping individuals who possess the skills, knowledge, and attitudes required to excel in a dynamic and fiercely competitive job market.

Our distinct approach, as outlined in our new Employer Guide, revolves around our commitment to employers.

We believe the partnership between education and industry is pivotal for fostering innovation, spurring growth, and enhancing productivity. Through close collaboration with employers, we tailor our programmes to meet the evolving demands of the job market, ensuring alignment with the specific needs of your industry.

Our commitment extends beyond the classroom. Our colleges are equipped with cutting-edge facilities, state-of-the-art resources, and industry-standard equipment. Our learning environments include modern workshops, simulation labs, digital innovation hubs, and dedicated employer suites – providing a dynamic setting where students translate theory into practice.

What sets the Chichester College Group apart is not just our infrastructure but also our exceptional team of highly qualified and dedicated tutors and support staff. Their passion for empowering learners and meeting the needs of employers, ensures that our students receive an education that thoroughly prepares them for the challenges awaiting them in the workplace.

In essence, we don't just educate; we empower, ensuring our students are not just jobseekers but invaluable contributors to the ever-changing professional landscape.

Paul Rolfe - Associate Principal Employers & Stakeholders

To view the guide, please visit:

CCG Training | Chichester College Group (chigroup.ac.uk)

Mindworks Pop Up Escape Rooms!

What do you get if you take four strangers, a dark tent, a pair of handcuffs and a stopwatch?

Team ‘Operation Chamber’ taking on the Mindworks pop-up Escape Room at the Better Business show recently, that’s what!  (What were you thinking??)

Chay Took, Marnie Williams, Matt Marchant and Nick Tompkin – four business leaders who hadn’t worked together before – kindly agreed to let me observe and give feedback on how they performed as a team during this 15-minute escape challenge (or perhaps Tracie Davey is just very persuasive).

We had a great conversation afterwards, reflecting on how their team dynamics evolved in that short time, from being polite and measured at the outset, to each stepping into their natural styles and roles towards the end.

Thanks Chay, Marnie, Matt and Nick for being such good sports.

Without giving away any game spoilers, here are some of my favourite lines:

“Who did that?”

“Are we missing something really obvious?”

“I was over-engineering it.”

“Check his pockets!”

“And you know what, that matches as well... It's like they were giving us a clue!”

“Shall we wait and get some suspense?”

If you’re looking for a fun activity for your business event, Mindworks have three different Escape Rooms in Worthing, or can bring this pop-up experience to your venue.

Celebrating 10 years of HR Dept

As we celebrate our company's 10th anniversary, we reflect on a decade of unwavering commitment to excellence, growth, and personalised service in the field of Human Resources Consultancy. Since we started, we have become a beacon of expertise, consistently providing exceptional services to our clients across Sussex.

We started small but over the years we have expanded our team, diversified our services and kept up with the latest trends in HR. In 2022, we merged our East and West Sussex based HR Dept businesses and our consistent growth is thanks to the hard work and commitment of our talented HR professionals who strive for excellence. As a small business ourselves, we understand the pressures on our clients and do all we can to provide a cost-effective service.

One of our proudest achievements is the consistent positive feedback we have received from our valued clients. Their satisfaction is at the heart of our success. We have built enduring partnerships based on trust, reliability, and a deep understanding of their unique needs. It is rewarding to know that our tailored solutions and personalised approach have not only met but often exceeded their expectations. Such client testimonials are the foundation of our reputation and motivate us to aim even higher in the future.

Our success is rooted in our commitment to provide local, personalised commercial advice. We understand that every business is unique, and our consultants take pride in delivering advice that not only follows industry best practices but is also customised to address the specific challenges and opportunities our clients face in their local context. This approach has been fundamental to our clients' success and will remain a cornerstone of our business philosophy.

As we mark this significant milestone, we want to express our heartfelt thanks to our clients, partners, and dedicated team members. The last 10 years have been an incredible journey, and we look forward to the next decade with optimism, enthusiasm, and an unwavering commitment to delivering excellence in HR consultancy.

www.hrdept.co.uk/sussex-by-the-sea

British Business Bank new ‘Making business finance work for you’ guide set to help businesses across the South East

The British Business Bank has launched a new guide aimed at smaller businesses, to help them understand how different financial products can support them at all stages of their development.

The new guide, Making business finance work for you, was launched during the Bank’s Business Finance Week last week, and is available to access free of charge here

The new guide is designed to help businesses make informed choices about accessing the right type of finance. It highlights the seven most common challenges businesses might face and the types of finance that could help to meet them:

• ·         Starting a business - Starting a new business often requires capital – money that is used to help research a business idea, create a prototype product, or purchase equipment or machinery that a new business will use.
• ·         Research and development – Research and development (R&D) is when a business develops innovative products, services, or processes.
• ·         Importing and exporting goods and services – Businesses selling goods or services overseas face risks when it comes to cash flow and receiving payment from buyers.
• ·         Protecting cash flow and working capital – Cash flow can be unpredictable with unforeseen costs, seasonal fluctuations, and wider economic challenges all impacting business growth.
• ·         Debt consolidation – If a small business has multiple loans or lines of credit, they may decide to consolidate their debts into a single, more manageable loan.
• ·         Purchasing a major asset - If a small business is looking to acquire another business or invest in a large asset, such as specialist plant or machinery, an injection of capital may be required.
• ·         Scaling and growing a business - Whether it’s opening a new location, expanding product lines or increasing production capacity, growth requires capital.

Louis Taylor, Chief Executive Officer, British Business Bank, said: “It can be challenging for businesses to find the right finance at the right point in their journey. I hope our new Making business finance work for you guide can help businesses across the South East find the information and finance that they need to take them to the next level.”

As well as online, the ‘Making business finance work for you’ is also available in Accessible pdf, hard copy, Braille, Audio-Described and Large Print (20pt) formats.

According to its latest Annual Report and Accounts, the British Business Bank was supporting £1,439m of finance to 12,115 businesses in the South East as at 31 March 2023.

Sussex Manufacturer Invests £550k in Expansion

A Sussex-based manufacturer and supplier of specialist rubber grommets has invested in a new production and distribution centre with the support of £550,000 from Lloyds Bank.

Grommets Ltd manufactures thousands of moulded rubber products and bespoke items for use in electrical engineering and manufacturing, covering wires and cables or protecting sharp edges. The business supplies over 8,000 firms across a wide range of industries, from wind farms to the rail industry, with clients including Thales, Unipart Rail and the Fourth Bridge.

As demand from renewable sectors increases, the firm is producing more products for use in solar panels and batteries for electric vehicles.

To cope with the increasing demand, the business has decided to increase its footprint by nearly a third. Construction of the purpose-built facility in Henfield, which sits alongside its existing manufacturing unit on Grommets’ half-an-acre site, was supported by Lloyds Bank and help will enhance the firm’s productivity.

Grommets’ storage and distribution offering has now consolidated from a number of small units into one, boosting efficiency between the departments and reducing lead times for customers.

Four charging points have also been installed at the new HQ for its fleet of EVs while the business is exploring plans to add solar panels to the roof of the 3,918 sq ft building to reduce its emissions further.

Jo Boorsma, managing director at Grommets Ltd, said: “Our new facility is the culmination of three decades’ of hard work, as we’ve continued to expand our operations, capacity and client base. To be in a position where we needed more space to grow is a fortunate one and I’m glad Lloyds Bank stepped up to help us achieve that.

“We’re eponymous with the industry and as a result, clients look to us to deliver market-leading quality and innovation. Our new facility helps us do all this and more, and I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for us, particularly as we grow into supporting new wind farms and EV battery manufacturing.”

Andy Boreham, relationship manager at Lloyds Bank, said: “Growing a business relies on operations flowing smoothly and finding efficiencies where possible. Grommets’ new facility is exactly what will help them achieve this.

“Embarking on a new build can be daunting, but the benefits to the business are enormous and are well-worth the investment. Grommets, for example, will be able to reduce its energy bills, boost productivity and improve talent retention and attraction as a result of a modern new workplace. These are three crucial ways of increasing resilience and accelerating growth in spite of headwinds.”

Fine Cut Group - A Journey to Solar Powered Energy

As everyone struggles with the increases, businesses are facing astronomical energy bills. Fine Cut saw their electricity costs double in just one year and in a business environment, reducing energy costs can be very difficult. Machines need to run and lights need to be on continually, so cutting back on output was not a feasible option.

With this in mind, they looked at internal strategies they could put in place to reduce their energy output. The first step was to insulate the entire factory wherever possible. By identifying the areas which needed attention, such as where they had suspended ceilings and the air temperature could not be maintained - they started insulating all these ceilings. The results have been dramatic and these areas now maintain a workable temperature and have had an instant reduction in gas and electricity usage.

Along with doing what they could internally, Fine Cut had the entire premises roof reclad ahead of their solar project, as it was crucial that the roof was in good order before the solar panel install.

The next steps towards solar powered energy was to apply for a grant and go through the tender process to vet potential contractors. Their forecast indicated that solar should generate 40-50% of their energy required annually, and a saving of £30k a year, so it was a worthy investment going forward...

To continue reading the full story on Fine Cut's journey to solar powered energy, visit their website - https://www.finecut.co.uk/our-journey-to-solar-powered-energy

Be part of Worthing High School's "Big Interview" on the 27th February 2024!

As a school Worthing High School is very keen to be pro-active with face-to-face events involving local businesses as these are a vital part of our student’s ongoing development and character building, particularly in preparation for their next steps as they progress onto further education and future employment.

One of the main events in the school calendar is our very successful annual ‘Big Interview’ event and this is being held on Tuesday 27^th February at Worthing High School. Timings for this are from 8.45am-1.30pm.

We are actively looking for locally based volunteers from the business community to be interviewers.

The ‘Big Interview’ enables each of our Year 10 students to receive a 10 minute interview from one of the local volunteer business partners on the day. The interview is not planned for a specific job, but to prepare students for what general questions they may be presented with in either future job interviews or at upcoming college and/or further education interviews.

Volunteers do not have to have experience of holding interviews as this will be more of a two way conversation approach and that this exercise will provide students with useful feedback on body language, question & answer techniques as well as giving them direct experience of a 1:1 interview with a person from outside of the school environment. We will of course provide further information both prior to and on the day to all businesses kind enough to support.

We will be providing refreshments for all our willing interviewers and would really appreciate your invaluable support for one of Worthing High School’s future pathways linked activities.

We can never have too many people for an event such as this and if you have any colleagues within your business or other contacts that would also be prepared to attend, please can you let me know and I will be more than happy to add them to the list of volunteers.

The event always provides our business partners with the opportunity to network with other local companies as well as within the school environment.

If you are interested please contact MFisher@worthinghigh.net