22nd November 2010 - New investment trainees at Brewin Dolphin

Newcastle’s Brewin Dolphin Investment Management firm has made two new appointments to support the firm’s strategic growth plans.

Vicky Casebourne and Tom Solly took up their posts in October as trainee investment managers.

Vicky, a former student of Durham University studied anthropology and then went on to complete a master’s degree in business management. She’s a keen skier having spent a ski season in Val D’Isere, and is looking forward to developing her career in one of the UK’s leading private client investment firm.

Originally from Stocksfield Tom was educated at Ampleforth College in North Yorkshire, and is now a former student of Leeds University where he read politics. Prior to his appointment with Brewin Dolphin he spent a gap year in America.

Charles May Head of Office “We are having a good run of business which has seen us secure some significant clients. We continue to grow our business here in Newcastle. Turnover is up this year and we have taken on a good number of clients. We are delighted to have sourced Vicky and Tom, two outstanding individuals to join our teams. We wish them well in their careers here at Brewin Dolphin.

19th November 2010 - Brewin Dolphin wins Citywire's Best Large Firm Award

Brewin Dolphin, one of the UK’s largest independent private client investment managers is delighted to have won the 2010 Citywire Large Firm Adviser Choice award.

The firm was chosen by independent financial advisers (IFAs) throughout the UK, who rated both service and performance and the award was presented at the Citywire Wealth Management Retreat at the Grove Hotel in October.

Charles May, Head of Brewin Dolphin in Newcastle said, “This is a tremendous achievement for Brewin Dolphin. To be recognised by other professional advisers endorses the high levels of service and commitment we continually strive to offer”.

The Brewin Dolphin Group manages £23 billion of funds for over 130,000 private clients and of this over £13 billion is on a discretionary basis. BD has 41 offices throughout the UK and Channel Islands and Brewin Dolphin Corporate Advisory and Broking is adviser to 90 small and medium size quoted companies and institutions.

19th November 2010 - Sadie Scoops Top Retail Award

It’s a double celebration for Sadie Ayton after winning the prestigious Lingerie Retailer of the Year award at the 20th annual Drapers Awards.

The event, held to celebrate the best in UK fashion and retail, saw over 1,000 of the UK’s top fashion stores and brands come together for a glamorous ceremony at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel on 17th November.

Sadie, who also celebrates 40 years in business this year, was joined on-stage by her granddaughter and her husband Tom after receiving her award.

Operating four stores in Consett, Darlington, Sunderland Ashington, Sadie the bra Lady beat off stiff competition from the likes of Debenhams to take home the award, presented by TV personality and model Lisa Snowdon. Stocking brands including Fantasie, Gossard and Curvy Kate, Sadie the bra Lady takes over from the 2009 winner Boudiche of Glasgow.

12th November 2010 - Unplugged Event Increases Stellar Line-Up

To mark the closing day of Global Entrepreneurship Week, If We Can You Can is hosting an Unplugged event in partnership with Get British Business Online, with very special guests who have made their mark in the online industries and are keen to share their thoughts and experiences.

Friday 19th November from 8:30am – 11am at the Regus Centre The Axis Building, Maingate, Kingsway North, Team Valley, Gateshead NE11 0NQ

Using the successful Unplugged format we will hear from experts in the fields of e-commerce, Search Engine Optimisation, Internet Marketing and Web Design. Our speakers will be covering what inspired them to start, the challenges that they’ve overcome, and their experiences within the industry. So far, confirmed to be in the hot seats are If We Can You Can member Darren Williams of Hair X-Tensions Ltd and Pascal Fintoni from The Centre for eBusiness.

We are also delighted to announce the recent addition of Dominic Allon, Agency Leader for Google UK, to the stellar line-up to offer his technical (yet jargon free) expertise and offer hints and tips on the world wide web. Google UK is the biggest market for Google outside the US and the most advanced major country in terms of e-commerce and online advertising spending. Dominic’s role focuses on helping Google’s agency partners get the most out of the internet and he will be divulging industry secrets and lessons learnt to our guests at this not to be missed event. Before joining Google in January 2007, Dominic worked at The Economist for seven years where he led international ad sales across the prime business and financial categories, and pioneered the Economist Group's integrated sales initiative.

Join us to hear from three industry and entrepreneurial experts, be inspired by their stories and gain invaluable insight from their unique experiences. You will also have the opportunity to chat, mingle and exchange ideas with likeminded people during this informal gathering. Please be assured that the event will be jargon-free and relevant to anyone in business at any stage, whether you’re a novice on internet marketing, unsure of how to make the most of the internet or are looking to grow your presence online.

For more information, or to register for this breakfast Unplugged event for free, please contact Will McLean on 0191 226 7488 or will@entrepreneursforum.net

11th November 2010 - Tech Specialist Doubles Turnover For Third Year Running

Global economic woes haven’t stopped the region’s only virtualisation specialist double its projected turnover for the third year running and push through the £1.5m turnover point.

Newcastle-based SITS Group is about to move to bigger offices at Quorum Business Park to accommodate growing staff numbers after hitting its growth targets eight months ahead of expectations.

SITS has also recently joined an elite group of technology experts after being awarded two sought after industry accreditations.

The company specialises in the £180billion market for virtualised computer solutions and is the only specialist within the North East.

Virtualisation works by creating networks of virtual servers housed on a small number of physical machines, which reduces operating and capital costs while boosting resilience and efficiency.

Commercial director Phil Cambers says the board is delighted with the company’s results: “Our predictions were that turnover would reach just under £1m by the end of year three, which is actually next summer, but we are actually on target to achieve £1.5 M turnover by next March.

“We achieved our first year’s sales targets in just five months and we’ve repeated that pattern of 50% growth year on year. This is great news, especially in the teeth of a fairly challenging recession.

“Part of our success is down to more organisations turning to virtualised solutions to help them lower costs and manage their IT assets much more efficiently. The average non-virtualised IT environment is likely to be running at about 10% of its capacity, which is a chronic waste of assets, and sadly it’s the case at so many organisations.

“In the North East, our findings show that around 75% of organisations have made no significant IT investment in the last two to three years, and a lot of that comes back to the fact that their existing infrastructures are simply not delivering the return on investment that they should be.

”Helping businesses from SMEs through to global names to get more out of the infrastructure they already have in place, and future-proof their investment so the IT is scalable alongside the growth of the business is actually fuelling the growth of our own business too.”

As part of the company’s plans to open up new markets next year it will tap into the cloud computing market by offering IT as a completely bought-in service for clients who do not want to host any IT on their own sites, or invest directly in their own IT infrastructure.

Virtualisation solutions market leader VizionCore has awarded SITS Platinum Partner status, making it one of only eight in the UK licensed to advise on top tier solutions; and Dell, the world’s third largest Server and PC manufacturer, has named SITS a Dell Enterprise Architecture Partner.

“There’s no denying trading conditions are tough, and set to remain so,” said Phil.

“But we are fairly bullish about the fact that our expertise is helping businesses of all types and sizes to save money and improve their efficiency, and when times are hard that’s more important than ever. That’s one of the reasons we are very optimistic about the future.”

11th November 2010 - Strictly the best banger served up for Uniquethinking

A Newcastle creative agency put its best foot forward this month when it helped TV judge and choreographer Craig Revel Horwood to find Britain’s Star sausage for British Sausage Week 2010.

Uniquethinking worked closely with the British Sausage Appreciation Society to promote the awards which were staged in six cities across the UK to celebrate the taste, quality and diversity of the sausage, of which there are some 400 individually named varieties in Britain alone.

The event in the North East was staged at Blackfriars Restaurant and saw nine local butchers from the North East dazzling the judges with their sausages in a bid to win the prestigious best banger award and a donation to the charity of their choice. The winner was local butcher Allisons of Ferryhill, winning the much coveted title and £150 to donate to the charity of their choice thanks to their Durham Pork Sausage.

Britain’s toughest judge, Craig Revel Horwood commented: “I’m known for being a tough judge but I can genuinely say the standard of entries was so high picking a winner was hard work, however the pork sausage was just fab-u-lous! A worthy winner of the North East Star Sausage!

Uniquethinking provides PR and marketing services to regional, national and international clients such as Windjammer Landing in Saint Lucia, Restaurant Design Associates, Costa Coffee and Vodafone where the agency helped to launch Vodafone’s World of Difference Campaign scheme last month enlisting celebrity Gok Wan, the face of the campaign.

Sam Hook, managing director of Uniquethinking, said: “We were delighted to meet Craig Revel Horwood and to see the British Sausage Appreciation Society back at Blackfriars for this year’s competition. It was great to see regional talent and fantastic food being recognised and Craig was the perfect judge.”

For more information visit www.uniquethinking.co.uk

10th November 2010 - NETE Makes £2m Investment In Wholesale Division

A rapidly expanding auto specialist has embarked on a two year £2m investment strategy in a bid to bring 250,000 extra tyres to market.

North Eastern Tyre and Exhausts (NETE) is investing £2million into its wholesale division, NE Wholesale, in a bid to offer the market close to quarter of a million tyres, spanning 1000’s of product lines.

NETE has acquired a vast 69,000sq ft warehouse in Stockton, almost the size of two football pitches to accomodate the new drive for business.

Tim Darcy, general operations and logistics manager for NE Wholesale, said: “The acquisition of this massive storage space is in addition to our current NE Wholesale storage sites, and is a strategic move in NETE’s growth plans.

“We are now able to work even closer with our wholesale customers and offer an incredible range of tyres we now have at our fingertips, all with a substantially decreased delivery time.”

The storage site which relies on 1400 stillages and three forklift trucks to manage its stock base of 100,000 of tyres, is the first stage of NETE’s current drive to be lean and smart in tough economic times.

Next on the auto specialist’s agenda is to invest in state of the art automated technologies which will enable faster picking and stock optimisation.

Story courtesy of www.bdaily.info

9th November 2010 - Sadie Makes Retail Award Shortlist In Anniversary Year

Congratulations to Sadie Ayton, better known as Sadie The Bra Lady, upon her being shortlisted for the prestigious Lingerie Retailer of the Year Title, sponsored by Panache.

The awards are organised by Drapers and this year is their 20th anniversary of celebrating the best of the country’s retail talent.

Sadie, who is celebrated for her unique attention to bra fitting and expert service, first won the prestigious award ten years ago and her friends and supporters in the North East are all willing her on to bring the award back to the region again. The award will mean a double celebration for Sadie as this year she is celebrating her 40th anniversary of the business.

Jessica Brown, editor of Drapers said, “We may be in the midst of some of the toughest trading that the fashion sector has experienced for years, but there are still many success stories that deserve to be celebrated. In fact now, more than ever, is the time for the industry to recognise and reward its very best.”

The awards take place at the Grosvenor Hall Hotel, Park Lane, on the 17th November. For more information on the ceremony and to see the full shortlist, please visit http://www.drapersawards.co.uk

Talking of her 40 year reign as an entrepreneur, Sadie says, “Success to me is recognising that more and more people know about what we’re doing here. I’m very close to my customers and every single one of those has been personally, shall I say, handled.”

For more information on Sadie the Bra Lady, please visit http://www.sadiethebralady.com

5th November 2010 - Exclusive Footwear Gear Up For Launch Party

Forum member Frances Chalmers is putting the final touches to what should prove to be a spectacular launch party at her newest venture.

Exclusive Footwear have recently opened a second store on Newcastle's Shakespeare Street, following on from the success of the firm's York branch and online operation.

The launch party takes place from 6.30pm on Thursday 18th November and there are a limited number of places left for anyone who would like to samples some champagne and canapes while preview the Autumn/Winter 2010 ranges of men's, women's and children's footwear from brands like TipsyFeet, PacoGil and GEOX. Frances also stocks a range of designer bags and accessories.

There will also be discounts available on the evening.

If you are interested in attending the launch party please call Marielle at the Newcastle store on 0191 232 7610 or email Frances at frances@exclusivefootwear.com

3rd November 2010 - r//evolution buck the trend

Despite concerns over the region’s economy, Hexham based r//evolution marketing are bucking the economic trend with a record number of new business wins over recent weeks.

In September r//evolution were appointed to provide branding, brochure design and exhibition material for BEREZ, the Blyth Estuary Renewable Energy Zone. r//evolution were invited to tender for project after being recommended by a past client, and fought strong competition to win the work.

With a steady flow of new clients and recent large contract wins r//evolution is actively recruiting to enable it to consolidate its success, and to continue its growth. MD, Gill Burgess puts their achievements down to hard work, effective business planning, and the application of new technologies. “This has been essential over the past two years, with the economic climate as it is” says Gill, …”and it really seems to be paying off.”

r//evolution are now actively seeking fresh talent to grow and develop with the business. Louise Kitchingham was recently appointed as an account manager, having graduated from Northumbria University. Louise had already gained valuable experience working freelance for various creative agencies in the North East while completing her studies.

Talking of her new challenge Louise said ‘I am so happy to be working with the team at r//evolution, their creativity and diverse range of clients has ensured that every day is as exciting as the last! I am working on some fantastic projects at the minute and can not wait to see the final outcomes.’

Other projects r//evolution has succeeded in winning recently are for clients as diverse as Tyneside outdoor apparel distributor, The Mountain Boot Company, Visit County Durham’s Know Your Durham Coast initiative, Ashington-based Training Provider Tdb Training, screening business HCO-Vetting, and local start up Fibres Carpet Care. The work encompasses both traditional and digital marketing solutions.

r//evolution offers marketing strategy, web design & build, on-line marketing, graphic design for literature and sales tools and PR, providing a full marketing solution for businesses of all sizes, from start-ups to national corporations. With 100% focus on exceeding client’s expectations, and an understanding of the need to offer excellent return on investment, r//evolution are able to offer effective marketing solutions while providing outstanding value for money.

Gill paid tribute to the r//evolution team, commenting “They are so committed to achieving great results for our clients and that has resulted in people contacting us through recommendations…I’m particularly delighted to have won our first renewables project, recently, for BEREZ. This sector is, and will continue to be of huge importance to the regional economy, and one that we are delighted to be a part of.”

“We know that the market will continue to be extremely tough well into next year”, says Gill, “ but we will stay focussed on providing excellent services to our existing and new clients, and to adding real value to their businesses through highly effective marketing communications.”

2nd November 2010 - Hedgehog Lab In Efforts To Boost Small Business Recovery

A Newcastle software developer is set to put small businesses all over the world on a level playing field with their big rivals, as it launches an innovative software tool to help them manage customer relationships.

Experts at hedgehog lab, which develops web, software and mobile applications whose clients include companies like Starbucks and AXA, believe their new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system – solomon – has the same growth potential as Sage’s market leading ACT software.

hedgehog lab’s co-founder Sarat Pediredla says solomon has been designed around a low-cost, easy to use, ‘buy and go’ principle specifically for small and micro businesses such as freelancers.

“solomon was created through my own experience of working within the IT industry on big software development projects,” said Sarat.

“Small and micro businesses have the same needs as big businesses to be able to manage customer relationships and keep track of information. However what they don’t have is a big budget, plus the time for meetings with sales consultants, demonstrations and advanced training sessions where they struggle to get to grips with the system.

“Far too many software solutions are marketed as easy to use, but the reality is that so few of them really are. We designed solomon so that customers literally pay, download the software and go. They can have everything up and running within just one hour. Whether you are in the office, at home, or on the road, solomon allows you to access your customer data through the web or your mobile phone.

“For around £30 per user, they get access to all the enterprise functionality that a top of the range software solution would give them, but at a fraction of the cost. We provide total support completely free of charge, and we are even giving away a free trial version so people can try before they buy.

“solomon gives SMEs a leg up and a chance to compete against bigger rivals. They have all the benefits that big companies enjoy but at an SME price tag, and we think it fills a much-needed gap in the market that no other product is addressing.

“Having a very cost effective but feature-rich CRM system in place means business owners can spend their time managing their company and helping it to grow. We are already selling to customers in the USA and Europe and sales are really taking off.

“Here in the UK, SMEs are recognised as being key to economic recovery, and we think solomon can play a big part in supporting the sector.”

29th October 2010 - Hairy charity prospect for Forum members

Entrepreneurs' Forum members are to join forces to raise funds for a men’s cancer charities this month...but their appearance in doing so might not be to everyone’s liking!

Better Brand Agency’s Mark Easby and Declan Metcalfe are joining forces with Quay2 Media’s Christian Cerisola for ‘Movember’, a special month-long awareness campaign which aims to raise much needed funds for The Prostate Cancer Charity and Everyman by encouraging all males to grow a moustache throughout November.

The trio are a part of a wider group of ten who have joined the North East-based ‘Taching Aboot’ team, which is captained by Martin Stout from the North East Times. Organisers of Movember have encouraged those taking part to form teams to offer mutual fund-raising support and share all-important grooming tips.

Mark, Declan and Christian are now appealing for sponsors to help their team become one of the most successful in the North East. The trio have even opened up the bidding for the privilege of being the lucky individual to whip off their facial hair at the end of the month.

Mark Easby said: “The debate has been long and passionate among the team as to which styles of ‘Mo’ would suit each of us. It’ll be interesting to see, come the end of the month, who has the ability to grow the best moustache.

“Critically, we are now looking for sponsors, as well as bidders and perhaps a suitable venue for the ‘shave off’ at the end of November. Those looking to donate or bid can do so by going on the Movember website and searching for the ‘Tasching Aboot’ team.”

Christian said: “Facial hair is like Marmite. You either love it or hate it. The wife is already dreading this month and has offered double for me NOT to take part. Movember offers a chance to fulfil that that deep rooted desire which I think exists in every male to have a moustache for just one time in their life.

“On a serious note, however, Movember is a great way to raise awareness of a very real problem for hundreds of thousands of men in the UK so I hope all the team can raise much needed funds for these very important charities. “

Donations, bids and messages of support can be made at http://uk.movember.com Search individual members or the team name, ‘Taching Aboot’

29th October 2010 - Teenage Cancer Trust Reception - 4th November 2010

Teenage Cancer Trust have invited you and a guest along to their evening reception to celebrate their work in the North East and to find out more about the new Teenage Cancer Trust unit that they are developing at The Freeman Hospital in Newcastle. This unit will complement the facility that already exists at the Great North Children's Hospital.

You will hear from staff and patients about how, with your support, Teenage Cancer Trust has helped Teenagers in our region to fight disease in the best possible environment. Refreshments will be provided.

You are invited to join the TCT team on the 4th November to hear about the future plans for the Teenage Cancer Trust services in the North East.

Please contact Angie Jenkison at angie.jenkison@teenagecancertrust.org to book your place. Alternatively e-mail Rachel at the forum on rachel@entrepreneursforum.net

Time: 6.00pm - 8.00pm

Venue: The Vermont Hotel, Heritage Suite, Castle Garth, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 1RQ

Dress Code: Smart Casual