National law firm Blackadders has reinforced its Management Board with the election of two new Partners to the group.

Emma Gray and Petra Grunenberg assume their new roles immediately and will support the further growth and development of Blackadders’ business plan. Their appointments mean Blackadders has equal male and female representation on its Management Board. They join Managing Partner Johnston Clark and head of Business Services Campbell Clark.

Emma, who joined the firm as a Partner in 2013, heads up the Commercial Property team. She is dual qualified in Scottish and English law, allowing her to work on UK-wide portfolios. Emma is highly experienced in commercial property acquisitions and disposals, developments and investments and landlord and tenant work across sectors including retail, office and leisure.

Petra leads the Rural Land & Business team at Blackadders. She joined in 2002 and was named a Partner in 2006. She acts for a number of landowners, tenants, developers and institutions across Scotland and oversees a team which deals with rural and commercial conveyancing, farm estate sales and purchases, investment property, renewable energy projects, agricultural tenancies and more. Both Emma and Petra are recommended lawyers by the prestigious law guide, Legal 500, and ranked as leading individuals by UK Chambers & Partners 2018.

Johnston Clark, Managing Partner, said: “The business has grown steadily over the past year and we anticipate Blackadders will continue on that upward trajectory in the months ahead. I am confident Emma and Petra will excel in their new roles. Both are vastly experienced lawyers who have displayed excellent commercial acumen and a real desire to help the firm to continue to move forward.

“Our new Management Board will be strategically-focused to drive our growth and will play a vital role in planning for the future, ensuring we are best placed to meet the needs of our varied client base. As a result of the newly-elected appointments, it’s also a source of great pride that we now have a 50/50 gender split on our Board and this reflects our modern, inclusive and progressive business.”

Blackadders also recently retained four newly qualified solicitors after they successfully completed two-year traineeships and announced a new intake of six trainees. The firm has a total headcount of 219, including 25 Partners, and offices in Dundee, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Perth, Forfar and Arbroath.

For more information please visit www.blackadders.co.uk

15th October 2018 – New research has pointed to a decline in the number of new point-of-care technologies being created to diagnose infectious disease and identify pathogens and antimicrobial resistance (AMR), amid a concerning lack of innovation and investment.

Ahead of the World Health Summit in Berlin, a comprehensive study of patent filings(1) was undertaken by IP firm Marks & Clerk and CPA Global for Nesta’s Longitude Prize. The study reveals a year-on-year decline in patent filings for point-of-care diagnostics to tackle infectious disease and detect pathogens and AMR through 2014 and 2015(2).

Following a dip in innovation as a possible result of the financial crisis of 2008, patent filings reached their highest levels for the past decade in 2014, with 118 patents for point-of-care diagnostics for infectious disease filed globally. By 2015 this figure had dropped significantly to 94 patents.

The global market for point-of-care diagnostics for infectious disease, and particularly those looking to tackle AMR, remains in its infancy. Most diagnostics are routinely done in a laboratory setting so that the introduction of a new point-of-care diagnostic requires the creation of new markets.

Much of the recent new funding in AMR has been allocated for early research into new antibiotics and so far funds to support diagnostics have been limited.

Paul Chapman, Partner, Marks & Clerk and member of Longitude Prize advisory panel, said: “The role of medtech in delivering quicker and more reliable diagnoses, and the impact this can have in tackling AMR, is often underestimated. It’s encouraging therefore to see that there is a great deal of innovation in this space.

“Nevertheless, that we have seen a dip in filings over the past two years in which data is available, after seeing steady growth in the years prior, is surprising. Patent filing figures are often seen as a gauge of the health of any market, and it’s crucial that AMR remains a focus for businesses and regulators.”

In 2017 the World Health Organisation (WHO) published a list of 12 ‘priority pathogens’, which will be central to the fight against AMR. Patents filed subsequent to the publication of this list will not yet appear in the data, but the report shows there is already a good deal of activity directed at these pathogens.

The Longitude Prize has been designed to incentivise innovation in rapid tests to reduce antibiotic resistance using Nesta’s challenge prize methodology. Currently 75 diagnostic developers from 14 countries are competing to win an £8 million prize.

Launched in 2014, the prize aims to foster innovation in globally accessible, affordable, rapid and accurate point-of-care diagnostic devices to help reduce the inappropriate prescribing of antimicrobial drugs.

Daniel Berman, Lead, Global Health Team at the Challenge Prize Centre, said:

“The fact that patents on AMR diagnostics are slowing is concerning but another equally important challenge for test makers is the dearth of available grants and venture capital funding for tests that will reduce and improve the use of antibiotics.

“The report also speaks about the need to create a market for these products. It recommends that governments and aid funders ring-fence funds for purchase rapid diagnostic tests. Without reducing the unnecessary use of antibiotics through better testing, experts say it will be impossible to slow resistance and ensure the availability of antibiotics that work.”

The study showed that industry leads the way with almost two-thirds of patent filings. A number of academic institutions are particularly active, nine of the top ten of which are in the US – led by the University of California, Harvard University and John Hopkins University. The other institution in the top ten is the University of Edinburgh in the UK.

The US continues to lead the way with 60 per cent of patent families with inventions in this area. The UK is the second largest source for developments in this field with eight per cent, followed by Europe (six per cent), Japan (four per cent), Korea (three per cent) and China (two per cent).

The research uncovered a general downward trend in filings in the UK, Korea, Japan and via the European Patent Convention, whereas there was an upward trend in South Africa, China and Australia.

Unsurprisingly, there has been a recent increase in filings for mobile phone-led technology and hand-held devices, 44 per cent of which have been filed within the past five years. Mobile technology is crucial for the advent of in-field and at-home testing, as it promises diagnostics that can reach remote areas, without the need for laboratory testing or complex and expensive equipment.

 

 

A total of 1,366,026 people passed through Edinburgh Airport last month making it the busiest September on record at Scotland’s busiest airport.

The numbers are 5.8% up on the same month last year with new routes continuing to perform well and airlines flying bigger and fuller aircraft.

It follows another record month in August when 1,473,132 passengers passed through the terminal, an increase of 4.9% on last year and the second busiest month ever at the airport.

The busiest month on record was July 2018 when the 1.5 million passenger barrier was broken for the first time by a Scottish airport.

2018 Sep % vs Last Year
Domestic 463,433 2.0%
International 902,593 7.8%
Total 1,366,026 5.8%
MAT 14,002,405 6.1%

 

Chief Executive of Edinburgh Airport, Gordon Dewar said:

“It’s another impressive month for all of us at Edinburgh Airport and I must commend everyone who works at the airport for playing their part in our busiest ever summer as we welcomed more than 4.3 million people over the past three months.

“We have a fantastic range of destinations and airlines for passengers looking for that beach holiday or city break and we’re always looking to add more, such as this month’s fantastic addition in Dubai with Emirates.

“While this growth is helpful, we can’t escape the fact that Scotland is well below European average growth. We’re also seeing airlines announcing reductions and cuts to services due to us having the highest aviation tax in the world, something which is holding back the industry’s true potential.  With the further challenge of an uncertain Brexit looming, the promised APD reduction needs to be delivered to avoid a stall in aviation and tourism growth.”

Background

Domestic market was ahead of last year (+2.0%) with Flybe and Loganair flying fuller planes.

The international market recorded a 7.8% YoY growth due to 21 new routes launched since last September.

Popular destinations (among others) in September were:

  • Canary Islands
  • Malaga, Alicante, Girona & Ibiza
  • Greece: Crete, Rhodes, Athens & Corfu
  • Other holiday destinations: Madeira, Faro & Dalaman
  • City destinations: Florence, Lisbon, Rome & Barcelona
  • Central and Eastern Europe: Gdansk, Wroclaw, Poznan, Kaunas, Budapest & Bratislava

SCOTLAND’S largest independent telecoms company has swooped for a new Account Director to help further expand into new areas of business and enterprise.

Sam Reymbaut is bringing over 20 years of industry experience to her new role at Commsworld, where her wide ranging remit will open doors with an array of new clients.

As part of her role, she will be responsible for overseeing the firm’s range of large enterprise, council and corporate contracts.

The move for Sam comes following a year as Account Director at Unify, the newest acquisition to Atos, where she was centrally involved in business development and client relationship across the public sector in the North East of England and Scotland.

This experience, alongside previous roles in business development and acquisition management at Capita and Telefonica will stand Sam in good stead to drive further growth for Commsworld in the public sector.

Sam said: “It’s a fantastic time for me to be making the move to Commsworld. The firm is growing and adapting to a matured public sector and landing large-scale contracts has seen it ultimately transform as a business.

“I’ve been familiar with Commsworld for many years and it is clearly an agile organisation which can offer a high level of service to its customers, which attracted me to the company in the first instance.

“I’m sure my role will be constantly evolving, looking for new opportunities and expansion where possible for the business.”

Sam joins at a particularly exciting time for Commsworld, which has recently announced its plans to build its national optical core network across the UK – the largest investment of its type in the organisation’s history.

In doing so, the Edinburgh headquartered firm will become the operator of the UK’s largest privately-owned network.

Ricky Nicol, Chief Executive with Commsworld, said: “Bringing somebody of Sam’s expertise into the business is a real boon for us all.

“Our fairly recent involvement in these important public-sector contracts really has been the launchpad for the blistering growth of the business.

“It is so important that we deliver the level of service to these contracts that the business community has long received and Sam will play a major role in this.”

Commsworld’s work on the seven-year Glasgow City Council’s ICT contract, announced in early 2018, will see it play a major role in transforming Glasgow into one of the world’s most digitally advanced cities.

It will deliver a greatly enhanced Wide Area Network of ultra-fast pure-fibre connectivity, as well as rolling out an IP Telephony solution for more than 16,000 council users and a 550+ seat Contact Centre.

The £30million deal follows on from similar contracts with City of Edinburgh Council and Scottish Borders Council.

Commsworld is an Edinburgh headquartered firm, with offices in Glasgow and Aberdeen and more than 100 staff operating across public and private sector contracts.

Grant Thornton has reported an increase of 47% in applications for its School Leavers programme, following a drive to increase social mobility and broaden the appeal of accountancy as a career option.

The leading business and financial advisor has welcomed 13 graduates and 1 school leaver to its Scottish practice ahead of a busy period of growth across its three offices in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The firm’s national strategy has resulted in more than a quarter of new hires (26%) joining straight from school, after the business made a number of changes to its selection process, including the removal of academic barriers to entry.

The new hires will play a key part in Grant Thornton’s long-term Scottish growth strategy, including its Vibrant Scotland initiative, designed to facilitate greater collaborative cross-industry thinking and build a more sustainable, vibrant economy throughout the country.

Andrew Howie, Grant Thornton UK’s Managing Partner in Scotland, said:

“By removing academic barriers and focusing on a wider set of skills, we’ve been able to open up a new pool of talent and increase opportunities for a more diverse range of people. Our business is here to serve a huge mix of clients and organisations, so it makes complete sense that we tap into the best talent from across Scotland, who can provide the insight, knowledge and passion for business that Grant Thornton has become famous for.”

17 year-old Katie Hall from Dalziel High School, is the latest school leaver to join the firm, and will be based in Glasgow, but gain skills and a client space across Scotland. Katie commented

“I was attracted to Grant Thornton after meeting some of the team members who joined the firm in a similar way to me. I decided to go straight from school to my career because I wanted to get stuck in and develop my career immediately. I’m looking forward to gaining vital on-the-ground business knowledge and work with a wide range of organisations and individuals, helping to unlock growth and play my part in building a more sustainable, vibrant Scotland.”

 

Commenting on the latest tranche of technical notices to advise businesses in the event of a no-deal Brexit, Hannah Essex, Co-Executive Director at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said:

“Firms will welcome the additional information provided in the final batch of technical notices, yet many questions remain unanswered. These highlight the urgency and importance of the UK government and the EU reaching an agreement as soon as possible, to avoid the confusion and significant disruption of a no deal scenario.

“We are surprised and concerned that there was no technical notice on the future status of EU nationals. All current guidance and the timetable for the roll-out of the EU Settlement Scheme, assumes that a deal is reached, and a transition period is agreed. While firms will have been encouraged by recent political statements, how the scheme would operate in a no deal scenario is yet to be addressed. Without clear, official guidance, warm words will not be enough to ease the concerns of many businesses and their employees.

“The government’s intention to maintain current trading relationships with countries that have an existing EU free trade agreement is laudable and shared by business. But the continuing uncertainty over what rules will apply past the 29th March 2019 is a poor basis for exporters and importers to plan ahead and grow their trade.

“There will be major concerns that without a deal, the market for electricity will be disrupted. Businesses will welcome the Government’s commitment to maintaining continuity in any Brexit outcome. However, it will be on the minds of firms until a formal solution is agreed – particularly in Northern Ireland, given the Single Electricity Market on the island of Ireland.

“The BCC risk register shows that many questions still remain unanswered especially on cross border trade and workforce planning. Both sides must do all they can in the coming days to reach a deal that works for British business.”

Commenting on the latest tranche of technical notices to advise businesses in the event of a no-deal Brexit, Hannah Essex, Co-Executive Director at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said:

“Firms will welcome the additional information provided in the final batch of technical notices, yet many questions remain unanswered. These highlight the urgency and importance of the UK government and the EU reaching an agreement as soon as possible, to avoid the confusion and significant disruption of a no deal scenario.

“We are surprised and concerned that there was no technical notice on the future status of EU nationals. All current guidance and the timetable for the roll-out of the EU Settlement Scheme, assumes that a deal is reached, and a transition period is agreed. While firms will have been encouraged by recent political statements, how the scheme would operate in a no deal scenario is yet to be addressed. Without clear, official guidance, warm words will not be enough to ease the concerns of many businesses and their employees.

“The government’s intention to maintain current trading relationships with countries that have an existing EU free trade agreement is laudable and shared by business. But the continuing uncertainty over what rules will apply past the 29th March 2019 is a poor basis for exporters and importers to plan ahead and grow their trade.

“There will be major concerns that without a deal, the market for electricity will be disrupted. Businesses will welcome the Government’s commitment to maintaining continuity in any Brexit outcome. However, it will be on the minds of firms until a formal solution is agreed – particularly in Northern Ireland, given the Single Electricity Market on the island of Ireland.

“The BCC risk register shows that many questions still remain unanswered especially on cross border trade and workforce planning. Both sides must do all they can in the coming days to reach a deal that works for British business.”

Success at National Transport Awards.

Edinburgh Airport has been named Airport of the Year at the National Transport Awards in London.

Scotland’s busiest airport saw off competition from five other airports to win the award at the awards ceremony which is in its 18th year.

It comes after Edinburgh Airport was named Scottish Airport of the Year at the Scottish Transport Awards in June.

Chief Executive of Edinburgh Airport, Gordon Dewar said:

“This is another excellent reward for everyone at the airport and comes just a few months after we were named Scottish Airport of the Year so to be recognised at both a Scottish and UK level is a fantastic achievement.

“We’ve just had our busiest ever summer, we’ve opened our terminal expansion to improve the passenger experience and this year looks like eclipsing 2017 as our busiest ever year so there is a lot to be positive about at the moment.

“And that is all made possible by the Team Edinburgh staff who work incredibly hard throughout the year to make everyday a big day for someone at our airport. From airlines to engineers, baristas to security and maintenance teams, we all work to the same goal of providing passengers with choice and a positive experience, and each play a role in delivering an airport which flies to more destinations than any other Scottish airport and provides connections to cities across the world.

“I thank everyone across the campus for their role in making us Airport of the Year in Scotland and across the UK.”

 

SP Energy Networks is responsible for the network, which delivers electricity to around 3.3 million homes and businesses across Central & Southern Scotland, Cheshire, Merseyside, North Wales & North Shropshire.

The Met office has issued weather warnings for wind and rain for Friday 12th and Saturday 13th October. The weather warnings have changed in the last 24 hours and will be updated if and when more information becomes available.

The warnings at present are as follows:-

– Friday 12th: between 3am and 12 midnight, wind will impact the West of our distribution areas, with gusts expected to be up to 70mph. There is a slight chance of some damage to buildings, such as tiles blown from roofs and small chance of injuries from flying debris. Some disruption to transport is expected and delays are likely for high sided vehicles on exposed routes and bridges.
– Friday 12th: between 6am and 12 midnight, There is a chance that homes and businesses could be flooded, causing damage to some buildings. Spray and flooding is likely to lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures.
– Saturday 13th: all day will see the rain continue and this will add further flood risk and could potentially lead to damage to buildings in the worse affected areas. Some areas may become cut off due to flooded roads. In some areas fast flowing or deep floodwater is possible creating a danger to life

At SP Energy Networks we continue to monitor the weather situation on a regular basis and have already started to implement our emergency action plans as a precaution. We will utilise our twitter channel (@spenergynetwork) and our website to keep you up to date. You can of course always keep up to date with issues in your area by using our postcode look-up tool which has details of any known faults on the network. Please go to http://www.spenergynetworks.co.uk/pages/postcode_lookup.asp for more information.

Please use the link below to keep informed of the latest weather update from the Met Office:
https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/warnings

Being Prepared

Please take a look at the Advice section of our website for handy tips on being prepared for a power cut and on what to do and how to contact us in the event of a power cut.

A new café bar has opened at Stoke-on-Trent station, transforming the former First Class Lounge into a facility for both rail passengers and the wider community alike.

It will be the second Titanic bod bar, a new concept from the Burslem based brewery, and will be open from early morning until late in the evening.

Dave Bott, joint Managing Director of Titanic Brewery, said the development represented an £80,000 investment at the historic station building. 12 new jobs will be created.

“As a brewery, we are well known for our award-winning community pubs, but we see the bod concept as meeting a new need in the market,” added Dave. “bod opens early and is a comfortable space for coffee and a light breakfast or lunch before evolving into a craft beer café bar for visitors from lunchtime onwards.

“We are excited to acquire the prime site at Stoke Station following the decision of Virgin Rail to partner with a local company to bring extra facilities for passengers. We have designed the Stoke bod to appeal to both the local community and rail passengers, giving visitors to our home city a good and lasting first impression of Stoke-on-Trent.”

Darren Horley, Head of Commercial for Stations at Virgin Trains said: “We are incredibly excited to be working with Titanic Brewery who deserve great credit for their energy and passion. We have no doubt bod will be a great success and we look forward to playing our part in making this happen.

“It is part of our strategy to challenge the traditional views about station management and deliver a vision whereby they become more integral to the communities they serve. Our overarching aim in this instance is to improve the experience of all customers using the station, whilst at the same time partnering with a local business to bring new life to the station and the surrounding area. It will also create 12 new jobs and provide a boost for the local economy.”