UK Business News

In the mid-1990’s I completed a BA (Hons) degree in Politics and was offered a place to continue my studies for a further seven years.  But two main reasons stopped me in my tracks and made me reconsider my future career opportunities.

Firstly, halfway through my degree course I became a proud parent and a large part of my life and thinking changed in a massive way.  No longer was I furthering my education for personal reasons but now I was considering what was best for my young family.

Secondly, during my Politics course I began using the evolving and exciting world of the Internet and the World Wide Web for research purposes, though at this time the university library and good old fashioned ‘books’ were still the main point of reference for essays.  I feel so ancient when I say how slow and cumbersome the Internet was in the mid-1990s.  Where did the last fifteen years go?

But even without such things as broadband, wi-fi, eBay and Google, it was very clear to see that a future career in IT was going to be a very secure one.

Instead of furthering my Politics studies, I chose to a Masters Degree in Advanced Information Technology with an emphasis on website development; and have never looked back.

Over the past fifteen years I have worked in website development, design, programming, online marketing and Internet business management. I have worked for SME’s and trans-global companies as well as setting up my own Internet-related businesses.  Furthermore, I have been fortunate enough to work in the UK and the United States.

Since the mid-1990s information technology and computers have become a part of our everyday lives and workplaces, with many companies now being 100% reliant on the Internet. As a result, IT jobs have become most valued and in many cases, well paid and very secure. In turn, the IT or ICT (Information & Communications Technology) job sector has grown exponentially since the 1990’s.

IT is the area of managing technology to acquire, process and store data, whether textual, numerical, graphical or otherwise. It spans many disciplines including computer software, information systems, data and database management, programming languages, web development and probably the field of most rapid growth – IT support.

There are not many businesses that haven’t been affected by the great IT revolution in the UK. Today a large majority of companies of all sizes use information technology in different ways. The result is a large IT jobs sector which always appears buoyant.

Whether it is to help process the business strategy, business process automation, providing information and connecting with new and potential customers, and productivity tools, there are plenty of career opportunities in IT in 2012.

If your New Year’s Resolution is to look for a new job or change career it is going to be more difficult than ever before to land that perfect job in this current economic climate.  But that’s not to say you should be put off from job hunting, as there are plenty of jobs being advertised right now.

I remember being at a small business exhibition a few years ago, just as the first wave of this current recession began to bite. An enthusiastic self-employed marketing consultant was giving an inspiring presentation explaining how many SME’s miss an opportunity by cutting their advertising and marketing budgets whenever they need to tighten their belts.  But the truth is that when the economy is in a dip and competition becomes more competitive there should be more, not less, focus on advertising and marketing to produce more opportunities to get your company known, get new customers and build up your portfolio.

This piece of advice sounds like common sense but you may be surprised to know how many companies either do not adhere to this way of thinking or if they do, it is with little or no understanding of the sector or their target customers.

There are plenty of different marketing jobs such advertising & sponsorship, brand & product placement, account management, business management, campaign management, and data & customer relationship management (CRM) as well as consultancy and digital or ‘online’ marketing.

Digital marketing is most commonly considered to be a form of marketing using the Internet with the use of websites, blogs and social media to create a buzz about your company or client.  This is coupled with digital display advertising and digital media with the use of banner advertising, text links and videos.

But with the advent of faster and wider broadband connectivity, wi-fi and mobile digital marketing has become a big focus for companies looking for new ways to promote their products and services.  This new sector offers plenty of exciting opportunities to those job-seekers looking to be at the cutting-edge of technology.

There are two types of digital marketing
Pull digital marketing is when a consumer actively looks for content.  By using Google or other search engines, viewing videos on YouTube or reading blogs and websites the consumer is actively searching for information that may or may not result in the consumer making contact with a company.  There are forms of online marketing such as Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) including Pay Per Click (PPC) paid advertising to increase visibility and therefore promoting a company site.  But with pull marketing, the consumer is in the driving seat. Whereas push digital marketing involves both the marketer and the recipient.  Examples of online push technologies include email newsletters, text messaging and news feeds that are most commonly used via blogs.

With every political, social and economic situation, there are always opportunities.  Right now, marketing is as secure as any other job sector I can think of.

The OECD’s prediction that the UK economy could slip back into recession does not bode well for any subsequent quarters’ M&A figures when referencing mergermarket’s data at the time the country last saw consecutive quarterly contractions in growth.

The 12 months between Q2 in 2008 and the equivalent period a year later saw the country slip into recession for the first time since 1990 and as both the value and number of deals steadily slipped in tandem.

“Figures have not truly returned to pre-2008 averages and another dent in the economy could further knock that trend even further backwards,” Paul Francis-Grey, Head of Financial Services EMEA, said.

In the eight quarters proceeding the 2008 recession, the UK saw an average of 372.5 deals announced each quarter. This compared to only 219 in the eight quarters following the recovery. And for the four quarters the UK was officially in recession, an average of 236 deals were announced.

Deal size similarly dipped post-recession and has yet to fully recover to pre-2009 figures, according to mergermarket data. While 2008 and 2007 saw deal values reach GBP 143.9bn and GBP 169.1bn respectively, 2009 saw a total deal value touch GBP 81bn. Last year saw GBP 81.7bn worth of deals announced whereas this year has seen a value of GBP 69.8bn announced deals.

“The prospects for an even quieter 2012 in terms of deals being undertaken would appear a stark possibility given the economic climate around the eurozone. But on the flipside, we could see the likes of Asia and the US pounce on its weakness,” Francis-Grey said.

About mergermarket
mergermarket, part of The Mergermarket Group, is an unparalleled, independent M&A intelligence tool used by the world’s foremost financial institutions to originate deals. It provides proprietary intelligence on potential deal flow, potential mandates and valuations via the world’s largest group of M&A journalists and analysts who have direct access to the most senior decision-makers and corporates.

Incorporated in December 1999 by founders Caspar Hobbs, Charlie Welsh and Gawn Rowan Hamilton, it has since become the fastest growing business in its sector. As well as expanding its coverage across Europe, Americas, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region, the company continues to launch ground-breaking products and services.

The Pension Protection Fund came into being through the Pensions Act 2004 and acts as a kind of insurance for members of pension schemes which have to be wound up. It was set up by the government to protect and compensate employees who make regular contributions to their pension through a pension fund, if that fund should fail due to insolvency caused by underinvestment or mismanagement for example.

Because of the danger that employees might lose their pensions if the schemes they had been contributing to ran out of funds, the Pension Protection Fund works by monitoring those pension funds which are likely to become insolvent. In order to enter the Pension Protection Fund, the pension scheme must be assessed for a period of one year, during what is known as the pension protection fund assessment, or PPF assessment. Either the scheme will be found to have sufficient assets left so as to be able to give members a reasonable return on their pension contributions, in which case the scheme can be left in the hands of independent trustees to be wound up, or the funds left over to be divided between members will fall below a specific amount.

Should the level of return which the scheme can make to members be less than that provided by the protection fund, the Board of the protection fund will assume responsibility for providing benefits to the members of the scheme. The benefits payable are related to retirement age, such that employees over the retirement age of 65 will receive the full amount of their pension, whereas those under retirement age are likely to receive a lower percentage, at a rate which is capped.

Although it may seem as though employers can rely on the ‘safety net’ of the Pension Protection Fund, the legislation deliberately guards against any such incentive by stipulating that employers must make compulsory contributions to pension schemes. The lower the contributions an employer makes to its scheme, the higher the premiums due to be paid into the protection fund.

From the point of view of individuals paying into pension funds, even though the protection scheme cannot provide full compensation for the value of a policy it does protect contributions up to a considerable value.

If the pension fund in question began to wind up between 1 January 1997 and 5 April 2005 the applicable ‘safety net’ scheme would be the Financial Assistance Scheme. This is administered by the Pension Protection Fund, and operated in much the same way, but is for schemes which began to be wound up before the PPF model was brought in by Parliament in 2005. Again, in cases where there was not enough money to pay members’ benefits, such that a pension fund became underfunded, or where the company in question became insolvent, compensation is paid through the Financial Assistance Scheme by way of compensating those who would otherwise have made contributions for no return.

If you’re in business, or are in the throes of launching a new venture, then the area of office space is one that will invariably take up lots of your time. Even with a recession producing plenty of good and affordable office space for rent, finding it isn’t always as easy as you might think.

A new way forward

However, one of the more recent developments to help find office space has been the advent of the online comparison and search site. It works in the same way as any other comparison presence, allowing you to quickly and easily search for office space, from simple one-desk setups through to fully managed offices.
The benefits of using this system are numerous, because it does a lot of the hard work for you.

Any business needs to have a credible postal address, ideally in an area that is likely to attract more clients through the door. So, by using the search facility in an office space search site, you’ll be able to pinpoint the location that you want by postcode. Add on the capacity for adding the number of employees that you’re looking to house along with an idea of price that you’d like to pay and you’re up
and running.

What to look for

The type of office space you need obviously depends on how big or small your business is. If you’re just one person then the desk space rental option is a great idea. This allows you to rent one desk – or more if you need them – in an already established office environment. You’ll get basic utilities plus everyday
essentials such as broadband internet.

What’s more, the main appeal of going down this route is that you have much more flexibility. Many arrangements have flexible contracts, often short-term, so you don’t have to commit to something that you’ll be stuck in for years. Locations are generally excellent, and the benefit is that as an individual, your business gets a solid, respectable postcode and address too.

What kind of business

It actually doesn’t matter what kind of business you run in order to enjoy the benefits of shared office space. Look too at more sophisticated rent-a-desk schemes that offer more extensive features if you’re looking to expand. Serviced office space, for example, allows you to enjoy all of the befits of a professional
office environment and will often come complete with features such as a reception area, full IT support and also post facilities.

If you’re just looking for a pretty standard office to rent, then the same site can be used to scour a database of all available property. You’ll need to bear in mind the size that you want – a rough guide to work by is to allow 50 to 75 square feet per person. Costs are generally quoted in price per square foot or square metre, per year of rental. So to work out the monthly cost, simply take the price and multiply it by the area of office space. Divide this by twelve to arrive at the monthly costs. Then divide it by your chosen area/person ration to calculate the cost per person.

By doing these provisional sums before you start out on the office rental trail, you can at least have a better idea of what sort of budget you’ll need to factor in. And that’s always wise if you’re about to head off to the bank for a chat with the manager.

About the author: Rob Clymo writes on behalf of Office Genie, the UK’s first proper online marketplace for desk space and shared office space.