'Lightning-fast' broadband and knowledge jobs bring Hull's digital city dream closer to reality

Hull - the digital city. It’s a concept that has been talked about for years without ever seeming to move significantly closer to reality, but maybe that is finally about to change.

Recently, I’ve detected some very exciting digital developments which could be profoundly important for the prosperity of the city and wider region, transforming employment opportunities and the economic landscape. All the talk at business meetings may be about Siemens and renewables, but something else is stirring which some have claimed may be just as significant.

The digital city concept had at its core the presence of a unique, local telecoms provider in KC and the availability of a network ripe for development to provide the infrastructure - or so-called plumbing - for major developments in education and business.

That concept gained credibility from the late 1990s as a result of the launch and development of Kingston Interactive Television (KIT), KC’s ground-breaking internet television service delivering video on demand and TV streaming via broadband. It was a truly pioneering service which was hugely ambitious in both its technology and objectives. In truth, it was way ahead of its time.

KIT was wound up in 2006 because KC could no longer justify a huge investment, which had come too early for commercial viability. But it had some significant outcomes, including that it was a key reason why the BBC chose Hull as the base for a major regional centre and it was used by the corporation as the testbed for a number of innovative interactive services, which informed later developments such as Freeview.

Now KC is again leading the way in developing digital infrastructure. This time, the company has embarked upon on a programme to install “lightning-fast” broadband across its East Yorkshire network. It’s early days, but the new service, KC LIghtstream, is delivering remarkable results and winning customers fast.

After relatively small-scale trials in Woodmansey, near Beverley, and Hull’s Great Thornton Street Estate, KC has begun a major rollout, starting in Beverley, and now has more than 800 subscribers for a service that guarantees broadband download speeds of 100 megabits per second (mbps), which is four times faster than the Government’s definition of “super-fast” broadband.

Just last week Beverley was declared the broadband capital of the UK, with the fastest speeds in the country. Speed test site Netindex showed Beverley as the fastest UK broadband location, with an average download speed of 43 mbps – nearly six times the UK average - as a result of the KC Lightstream performance.

The remarkable speeds are delivered because the data travels down fibre-optic cables fed through to customers’ homes, replacing traditional copper connections. KC is stealing a march on other Internet Service Providers (ISPs), such as BT, by installing Fibre To The Home (FTTH), rather than Fibre To The Cabinet (FTTC) - a connection box in the street. Elsewhere in the UK, connections are slowed down by copper cables for the last part of the data journey. In Lightstream premises, speeds are not constrained and the technology is future-proof, enabling acceleration of download speeds as demand for digital data and content grows.

The results seen already are impressive - users of the new service can download music albums in just two seconds, hour-long television programmes in 31 seconds and high-definition films within two minutes. It’s truly a revolution in accessing information and entertainment in homes which now frequently have multiple digital devices  being used at the same time.

But this new network is potentially even more significant in terms of its power to enable the development of East Yorkshire’s emerging digital sector. It has been interesting to note Hull’s growing credentials in this sector - in website and app development, gaming, social media and other disciplines. Indeed, that capability and credibility will be showcased this weekend (17th & 18th March) at Platform 2012, an event at the University of Hull focused on the huge gaming industry.

Quietly, Hull is gaining ground as a centre of knowledge jobs, with technology a key element, supported by high-quality educational establishments, such as the university and Hull College. Also important in this picture is the Hull Digital community of entrepreneurs and developers, which plans its own significant event, HD LIve, at the university on 1st November this year.

Factors are coming together to accelerate this welcome development of technology-based and enabled jobs in the knowledge economy - jobs that will be vital to achieve a re-balancing from public to private sector and blue to white collar employment.

KC’s commercial and financial director Sean Royce talked about this change recently when setting out the benefits for businesses of the Lightstream rollout.  The huge boost to broadband capability will encourage start-ups and SMEs focused on activities such as online retailing, app development and gaming.

Mr Royce pointed out that digital industries already generate £130 billion for the UK economy - 10 per cent of gross added value - and employ six per cent of the workforce. The sector also continues to grow, despite the economic climate. It’s a trend the Government recognises and wants to encourage. It plans to commit £780 million to support the development of super-fast broadband and mobile provision across the UK  to help to deliver a world-class digital infrastructure. Estimates are that the investments by Government and the private sector could create 600,000 new jobs and pump £18 million into the UK economy.

One local digital entrepreneur, John Connolly, wrote in a recent blog on the Hull Digital site that the rapid development of the local broadband network will enable businesses to work and communicate in new, faster, more efficient and effective ways, including through home and remote working. His view was that the Lightstream network would be “the backbone of business and education in the city for years to come”, enabling the development of exciting new enterprises and ways of learning.

And, although large-scale employers, such as Smith & Nephew, Reckitt Benckiser and, indeed, KC,  are hugely important to the East Yorkshire economy, SMEs are the real backbone of UK Plc, providing 60 per cent of private sector jobs.

So, while the headline news is how Siemens, the burgeoning offshore wind industry and other forms of renewable energy will bring new prosperity to Hull and the Humber, it’s not the only story of economic potential and job creation. No doubt renewables will continue to hog the headlines, but the development of digital infrastructure, businesses and jobs may be just as vital over the long term.

Beverley has Britain's fastest broadband
Forget Silicon Valley - welcome to the Humber digital estuary

Hull and the Knowledge Economy

Gadget king's inspiring message to potential young entrepreneurs

I’ve witnessed a business masterclass by one of Britain’s most admired entrepreneurs. It’s far from the first time I’ve listened to a successful businessmen share the secrets of their success, but this was different.

The difference was the audience. It wasn’t a gathering of fellow businessmen and women - listening intently were 12 and 13-year-olds.

The speaker was Jonathan Elvidge, founder of the pioneering Gadget Shop and now owner of RED5, one of Britain’s fastest-growing private companies. His audience came from Hull’s Malet Lambert School - youngsters who have already expressed an interest in starting a business, despite their tender years, or who plan to take Business Studies at GCSE. They had been brought together by the school’s Business Champion Stephen Logan and the For Entrepreneurs Only (FEO) group.

FEO is made up of 70 entrepreneurs who have built successful businesses in Hull and the East Riding and are committed to sharing their experience and wisdom to help others to create wealth and jobs. A key focus is on education and inspiring a new generation of business owners, hence a series of FEO days for local schools featuring members of the group.

So to the Malet Lambert FEO day, hosted at The Exchange educational hub, created by the Hull Esteem consortium, which is transforming the city’s schools through the Building Schools for the Future programme.

I was familiar with some of Jonathan’s story but I hadn’t previously heard him talk, with such understated passion, about why he launched his own business, what he had learned and why others should follow his example.

Jonathan gave up a steady and secure job with telecoms company KC to fulfil his dream by launching The Gadget Shop in Hull’s Princes Quay Shopping Centre 20 years ago. The business grew so fast that, at one time, it was valued at £40 million, before Jonathan lost control, the business was sold and then, after he left, it collapsed.

Undeterred, Jonathan bounced back. With a business partner, he launched RED5 - billed as “the ultimate gadget shop”, with high street stores and concessions across the UK and a growing online business.

The highs and lows of Jonathan’s business career were fascinating. He admitted he just missed an opportunity to sell his Gadget Shop shares before the business began to tail down, but said he had no regrets: “I wouldn’t change a thing - the ups and downs are all learning experiences”.

But of even greater interest were his words of advice to his audience of potential entrepreneurs. He urged them to do what they are passionate about and to ignore the “energy vampires” who daren't take risks and hate to see others strive to fulfil their dreams. Success comes from having a great idea, the passion and belief to bring it to life, and the courage to act upon it. “What you conceive and believe you can achieve”, he says.

He told the youngsters he wasn’t suggesting they should all launch into business straight from education, although some might want to do just that. But he did want them to believe that they too could turn their idea into a business, at some time in their working lives.  “You can do it,” he urged. “Don't think it's for other people. Keep those ideas in your head and, when the time is right, go for it”.

His final pearl of wisdom was powerful. “Companies like Google, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft were all started by young people with an idea and a vision,” he said. “They changed the world. Who’s to say your ideas couldn’t, too”.

So true and what a thought-provoking message for young people in Hull to hear. I am sure that very few, if any, of the audience will forget Jonathan’s inspiring story and his words of advice. For some, it might just be the spur for them to strike out on their own and create their own business success story.

For Entrepreneurs Only

Malet Lambert School

The Exchange Hull

Hull dispells another negative stereotype - we're a city on the up!

We've all heard them all - Hull supposedly has Britain's worst schools, fattest people and most teenage mums. In fact, none of these myths are true.

The truth is that, while Hull has many of the social issues seen in any major city - and some of the statistics are exaggerated by the very tight local government boundary - it’s a great place and getting better all the time. It's also a place where so many people are working so hard and successfully to raise standards and address issues.

There's more evidence of that today with the excellent news that Hull is no longer one of worst areas in the UK for teenage pregnancies. Congratulations to the teams from Hull City Council and the NHS who have done such great work. It is clear that sustained campaigns and activity around awareness of sexual health and contraception have achieved outstanding results.

Teenage pregnancy has huge consequences in terms of the health, education and life chances of girls who have babies so young, so the progress will have many positive benefits.

Together with fast-rising GCSE results, great new school buildings and a jobs boom from renewables on the way, it is clear that Hull is on the up.

Oh, and we've also got a great story to tell about our region's economy, courtesy of the Hull and East Yorkshire Bondholders - a fantastic network of more than 140 businesses and organisations that is the envy of cities and regions across the country.

City no longer in top 10 for teen pregnancy

Green growth, blue horizons - our economic story

Siemens and the offshore wind bonanza: How can the Humber keep the jobs and wealth

Politicians are not noted for understatement but, in the case of the huge wave of investment on its way to Hull and the Humber, local MPs have played the prospects down.

So says one of them, the West Hull and Hessle MP Alan Johnson, as he puts into perspective how significant the burgeoning renewables sector will be for a city that has lacked a core industry since its fishing fleet was decommissioned after the 1970s Cod Wars.

Hull’s elected representatives have been cautious in celebrating the decision by German giant Siemens to locate a factory manufacturing offshore wind turbines on Hull’s dockside. The caution is understandable. As Mr Johnson says, the city has seen many false economic dawns, but he is in no doubt that this is the real deal. “For once the politicians are underplaying this. It’s astounding what it will do for this area”, says the MP, who compares the impact as “like oil to Aberdeen”.

The Siemens facility will bring 700 new jobs. Many thousands more will come in the supply chain and from other green energy investments along the Humber estuary.

Why the Humber? The key is location. It is just 12 hours “steaming time” from three huge North Sea wind farms where 5,000 turbines will be erected in what has been described as the biggest civil engineering project in the world. It will be a game-changer for an area with high levels of unemployment and reeling from the likely loss of 850 skilled manufacturing jobs at BAE Systems in Brough.

But, while the Humber bids to become the UK’s renewable energy capital, there is a challenge to ensure the resulting jobs and wealth stay in the region. Offshore wind energy is in its infancy in the UK. On the continent there are established supply chains keen to profit as the industry develops in Britain, as companies heard at a conference, Offshore Wind: A Guide for Businesses, staged by industry body the Renewables Network and specialist PR and marketing company Footprint Renewables.

Some local businesses have already grabbed a slice of the action, notably MMS, based in Hull, which will build and operate a fleet of vessels to transfer technicians and equipment to the turbine fields. Others need to get up to speed - and fast.

Renewables Network Business Development Director Sam Pick says Siemens will be “the magnet that drags the rest of the industry on” and says local firms need to find their place in the supply chain. “Think about who you are going to send your invoice to - that’s where you target your products and services”, he urges.

Mr Pick says the big reward for the region is long-term careers, not just jobs. “People can get into these careers and grow with the industry”.

Another speaker, Eric Collis, of the Humberside Engineering Training Association (HETA), said a rapidly-evolving industry required a workforce who could learn and relearn skills. They’ll be well paid, though. He quoted £52,000 as the going rate salary for a technician working offshore.

He also predicted fierce competition for contracts. “It will be like the Klondike. Competition will come in like seagulls,” said Mr Collis. “You’re no longer competing with the guy around the corner. You’re competing with the rest of the world and they’re hungry for the work too”.

Capacity to grow and access to funding were vital, said John Britton of Hull-based consultancy BCG Bridgepoint. He said the UK offshore wind industry would be four times bigger in 2016 than in 2010. By 2030 it is predicted to be eight times larger than in 2016. Tracking that exponential growth would see a SME with turnover of £300,000 today become a £10m business, he explained.

Rob Bell, of skills and logistics consultancy Archomai, highlighted a key difference from the Aberdeen experience: “North Sea oil made money; North Sea wind costs money”. The industry’s subsidies meant pressure to reduce supply chain costs by 30 per cent to ease the taxpayer burden. “We’ve got to understand that this is not shopping at Harrods, it’s shopping at Lidl”, he cautioned. Suppliers would profit by driving down the industry’s costs, he said.

Logistics and supply chain expert Professor Chee Wong, from the University of Hull, said another challenge was compliance with a host of accreditations demanded by the likes of Siemens. The university is one of many organisations focused on developing a local skilled workforce equipped for the new opportunities.

Humber firms will also need to find and forge alliances or joint ventures, such as the British and Danish ownership of Alpha Energy, a company based in Hull supplying contract workers to the onshore and offshore wind industries. “You’ve got to put the air miles in”, says Director Bruce Marbrow.

And now is the time to act, says Mr Pick. He’s tired of hearing talk of “if” offshore wind will take off. “It’s not an if,” he says. “We need to be moving right now. This may be new here, but not in Denmark and Germany and companies here will be competing with existing suppliers there.”

• This article was first published in the Yorkshire Post

Siemens and offshore wind: How Humber firms can benefit from the bonanza

By common agreement, the plan by Siemens to build turbines in Hull for the huge Round 3 wind farms in the North Sea represents the most significant inward investment the city has seen for decades.

The combined investment by Siemens and Associated British Ports in Green Port Hull at Alexandra Dock is in excess of £200m. Siemens will employ 700 directly at the turbine factory, but the real boost for the city and region will come from the thousands employed in the supply chain and other activities as Siemens becomes the catalyst for the Humber to emerge as a major hub for renewable energy industries.

But the key issue is how do businesses in Hull and the Humber claim a slice of the action and ensure a significant proportion of the jobs and economic benefits stay local. The big risk is that, if local firms don’t know how to become part of the supply chain, many of the jobs will go elsewhere - most likely to Europe where  to the German giant has an existing network of suppliers and contractors.

So what do companies in Hull, East Yorkshire or the wider region need to do to ensure this once-in-a-generation opportunity doesn’t pass them by?

Many of the answers will come from a special conference specifically focused on advising companies on how to win business as the offshore wind industry takes off. The conference - Offshore Wind: A Guide for Business - is being staged at the Country Park Inn, Hessle, on Thursday, 16th February, from 8.30am-2.30pm.

The line-up is impressive, including Nicola Yates, Chief Executive of Hull City Council, who will spell out the vision for the Green Port Hull development and the impact it is expected to have on the Humber region. Other speakers include Professor Chee Wong, an expert in logistics and supply chain management from the University of Hull, and Bruce Marbrow, of Alpha Energy, a joint venture based at The Deep in Hull formed to meet the growing demand for contract labour to work on both onshore and offshore turbines.

The conference has been organised by the Renewables Network, a major grouping of businesses operating in the renewable energy market,  and Footprint Renewables, a PR and marketing agency focused specifically on the industry.

I spoke to Sam Pick, of the Renewables Network, and Andrew Morton, of Footprint Renewables, and both were keen to stress that the conference would be specific in its focus  as expectations of the emergence of a major new industry for the region turn to reality.

So the content will address issues such as:

·         What Siemens and other major players want and expect from potential suppliers.

·         What exactly are the opportunities from the offshore wind industry, directly and indirectly.

·         Which accreditations are required from firms looking to tender for work.

·         The guarantees that the sector demands, in terms of quality, safety and delivery.

·         And where to find the vital information on available tenders and contract opportunities.

And Mr Pick emphasises that there will be key messages about the need for local companies to work in different ways to seize the opportunities. Competence and scaleability will be vital and that will often demand joint ventures, such as the British and Danish ownership of Alpha Energy, or looser collaborative partnerships. Those links could be formed as a result of networking at events such as this conference, which will bring together businesses focused on the offshore wind opportunity.

Mr Pick also stressed that it’s not just about building wind turbines - quoting the example of Humberside Airport which has the potential to become the UK’s no.1 heliport as a result of transporting workers to and from the huge North Sea turbine fields. He reels off a diverse range of other sectors which stand to benefit - such as legal, insurance, hotels and business consultancies - but stresses that firms engaged in all these activities will need to understand how to grasp the opportunity.

“Businesses need to prepare over the coming months and consider their offer and even possibly up their game, if they are to stand a chance of being an approved supplier - wherever this may be in the supply chain,” said Mr Pick.

It’s good advice - and it’s vital it’s heeded if the bonanza of jobs and contracts that will come from the Siemens investment is to be fully realised within the Humber region.

Full details of the conference and how to book delegate place are available via this link:

Offshore Wind: A Guide for Businesses

The new Hull school that aims to make young people ready for work

For far too long Hull has been labelled an educational backwater, but there’s no doubt that a whole raft of initiatives are transforming learning within the city.

The most obvious change can be seen in school buildings across Hull, as a result of a £400m Building Schools for the Future programme. Schools such as Archbishop Sentamu Academy in Preston Road and Sirius Academy in west Hull are more akin to silicon valley campuses than traditional secondaries. Those academies are also among several new-style schools seeking to drive up standards of attainment in a city which not long ago recorded the worst GCSE results in England.

And the initiatives keep coming. The latest is a studio school, pioneered by Hull College, one of only 12 in the UK and due to open in September at the college’s Queens Gardens site.

The studio school will be very different from traditional schools, or even the new academies. I heard about those differences during a presentation by the college’s Deputy Principal Gary Warke and Director of Young People’s Learning Lynne Richardson at the latest meeting of the One Hull Business Forum.

It was an appropriate audience, as the studio school is focused on developing young people to be ready for the world of work. Enterprise and employability are the key words, as the schools strives to address the often-heard criticism from businesses that school-leavers are not equipped with some of the basics - such as punctuality, professional appearance and communication skills - required of today’s workforce.

The studio school will take pupils aged 14-19 and be comparatively small, with a total of 300 pupils. The target is to enrol 120 in September - 60 aged 14 and 60 at 16.

The school day will run from 8am to 5pm and the emphasis throughout will be on practical work. Students will spend a significant proportion of the week in the workplace - those aged 14-16 will be on unpaid work placement for up to four hours a week, while the 16-19-year-olds will have up to two days paid employment.

The curriculum will focus on the core subjects of English, maths and science, alongside a choice of vocational qualifications. Education will be taken out of the usual classroom setting, with students learning primarily through project work.

The school will also employ what it calls “personal coaches” to support students and help to link them to employers, while the college says the new school’s disciplinary and reward systems will be based on those “commonly found within the workplace”.

And, in perhaps the most obvious difference from traditional schools, students will wear what is described as “business attire”, rather than uniforms.

I suspect much of the above will be warmly welcomed by employers, who often complain that young people lack the core skills, focus, attitude and, sometimes, sheer common sense to make a valuable contribution. Too often, a re-education process is required when young people join a business. The studio school aims to remove that process, by producing youngsters who are familiar with the expectations and demands of the real world of work.

The studio school will face many challenges, among them convincing sufficient parents to interrupt their child’s education by moving them from a traditional secondary, or academy, to the studio school at 14.

It also seems to me that the expectations for work placements and paid employment are ambitious, for both the students and employers. The studio school will certainly have to ensure that bringing students into their businesses is not unduly demanding for employers, in terms of supervision or health and safety requirements. The school will need to make it easy for employers to come on board and also demonstrate to them that their students can make a real contribution - that this isn’t old-style “work experience” under a new guise.

However, it is interesting to hear Hull College say they have the backing of more than 100 businesses already. P&O Ferries and Rollits are featured in the promotional literature.

The studio school is a certainly a brave and bold initiative, which deserves success. Employers will applaud Hull College’s faith in the concept if it delivers to them young people who have the inter-personal qualities, discipline, core skills and enterprising spirit to add value to their businesses.

It also adds another facet of innovation to the rapidly-improving education facilities and provision in Hull, as the city’s young people and, of course, their parents have access to greater options and opportunities than ever before.

Those improvements are now feeding through into raised attainment. As I write, newly-released statistics show Hull - once rooted to the bottom of the GCSEs league table - has climbed to sixth  from bottom. A long way to go, but progress nonetheless.

Of course, the studio school’s focus will not be purely on academic achievement, but on producing young people ripe for the workplace and, potentially, the entrepreneurs and wealth creators of the future. Academic ability and practical skills are both important - developing a better educated, more enterprising workforce will be vital to unlocking Hull’s economic potential.

·    Potential business supporters of the studio school are invited to attend a launch event at Queens Gardens on Thursday, 2nd February, from 4.30-5.30pm, with guest speaker David Frost CBE, Chair of the Studio Schools Trust and a former Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce. Attendance should be confirmed by e-mail to ebarker@hull-college.ac.uk or by phone on 01482 598817. This will be followed by an information event for parents and students from 6pm-7.30pm.

·     For more information about the studio school, contact Lyne Richardson at lrichardson@hull-college.ac.uk or 01482 381928. Further information on the studio schools concept can be found at www.studioschoolstrust.org

The Sewell Group - a local force for good

I’ve watched the progress of the Sewell Group for many years, but this was the first time I had really seen the business up close.

I was privileged to be asked to deliver the opening address at the 2012 Sewell Group Convention and give an external perspective on the business - how it has developed; what has underpinned its success; and where the future opportunities lie. Afterwards, I was an interested observer as managers from across the Sewell divisions put the directors through a question and answer session; were told of plans for developing the business; and listened to the 2012 business plan overview.

It all reinforced the opinion I had formed of Sewell from a distance over the years - an impressive, progressive business that involves its people in plotting its future direction and inspires them to make great things happen. No wonder it has been ranked as one of Britain’s best companies to work for in each of the past three years, out-performing many huge businesses with legions of people focused on people issues.

In considering my external perspective, I was keen to impress on the Sewell people how special their business is. I wanted to highlight that they do much more than contribute to a commercially successful company - they each play their part in a powerful force for good.

Many businesses talk about their Corporate Social Responsibility policies and how much they “give back”, but, in my experience, being a force for good is often claimed, but rarely, really true. In Sewell’s case it certainly is. The evidence is all over Hull in the state-of-the-art health centres and schools which have transformed the local built environment.

They’re not just buildings - they’re statements of confidence and intent, achieved by public-private sector partnerships united by a desire to give the local community facilities and services of which they can be proud.

Sewell is a diverse business spanning construction, investment, project development, facilities management and retail. With the exception of the latter, none of the activities are traditionally associated with excellence in customer service, but it seems to me that Sewell is an exception to the rule. In construction it has changed the conversation from building to function and budget, to building quality and legacy for communities and future generations.

And, while improving local communities, health provision and life chances, the business has developed what Managing Director Paul Sewell calls “trust-based relationships” with “delighted” customers. Quality and customer service have resulted in repeat business, enabling Sewell to grow at a rapid rate. It now employs 350 people - in itself a force for good - and prides itself on giving its staff careers, not just jobs.

So being a force for good and commercial success can go hand in hand. Indeed, during the Q&A Paul Sewell stressed: “Profit is not a dirty word. Only profitable companies can be a force for good, give back and give their people careers”.

Sewell has prospered over many years from investment in public sector facilities in Hull, principally the Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT) programme, transforming primary health centres, and Building Schools for the Future. But the times are changing. As I highlighted in my presentation, the political landscape is now very different, the public sector is under the cosh and Private Finance Initiative (PFI) schemes, which Sewell pioneered, are under the microscope.

But the business is not unsettled by these challenges. While the pipeline of projects is very healthy going forward, Sewell has a dual focus on delivery today and planning for tomorrow. Director Paul Brooke has moved into a new role focused on business development, intrinsically linked to communications and the Sewell brand.

There will be new opportunities, but the business understands it should, as Paul Brooke says, “look from within first”, by focusing on its core competencies, capabilities and track record. Health will continue to present opportunities, particularly due to the needs of the ageing population. There will be others. Sewell is well placed, in the words of my presentation, to “reinforce its reputation as a private sector partner of choice for the State”.

Sewell is also looking at the expected huge wave of investment in renewable energy in the Humber region, with Siemens as the catalyst. Sewell aims to be a strategic partner and the company’s recently-opened Skills Academy positions the business to play a key role in closing the skills gap, so local people can seize the promised job opportunities. Once again, Sewell is a force for good, supporting investment, skills development and job creation.

The desire to be a force for good can also be seen in a relaunch for the Sewell Foundation, which will co-ordinate the company’s charitable activities and match-fund fund-raising efforts by individual employees.

Sewell Group has an ambitious vision - to be a world-class local company - and being local is key to its success. As a business with its roots in Hull, Sewell understands the city’s psyche. And, as people increasingly turn away from huge, faceless corporations, the power of local will be an even greater advantage. That can certainly favour the Sewell Retail forecourt & convenience stores business, although I suggested there was a case for doing more to sell local to customers and remind them that, by buying petrol, newspapers and other items from Sewell, they are supporting a local business investing in the local community.  

Sewell is fundamentally a family business and it felt like a family to me, as I watched Sewell managers flag up 2011’s highlights - the “moments of truth” - and the “oops” occasions when things didn’t go so well. There was real pride in their achievements, but no hint of complacency; plenty of honesty; and a sense of shared values and mission.

The economic climate may be depressed, but the Sewell Group and its people enter 2012 with a real belief that they can continue to produce great commercial results by doing great things for the local community.