“ We find Bath an excellent talent pool for creative people” |
Inspecs- the award-winning British eyewear design house is headquartered in Bath.
Established in 1988 and celebrating its 30th year of trading, the firm partners with global consumer brands such as Superdry, CATERPILLAR and O’ Neill and also has offices in the USA, China, Hong Kong, Stockholm and Lisbon, and factories in Bath, London, China and Vietnam.
Currently employing over 1300 people worldwide with around 50 based in Bath, the company originally moved from London in the early 2000s and claims to find Bath a good source for the Creative, Commercial, Production, Finance and Logistics people it needs.
The firm’ s Scandinavian CEO, Robin Totterman, places“ a strong emphasis” on
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good work-life balance which is why he decided to make the move from the‘ Big Smoke’ to Bath.
He said:“ Bath is well-located for regular brand and retail buyer meetings around the UK plus it has good travel links to Europe from Bristol airport.
“ Our customers and brands really enjoy visiting the city to meet with us and will often use it as an excuse to look around the sights. From a staff perspective, we find Bath an excellent talent pool for creative people who are often surprised to discover a global fashion accessories design company based here in the city, working with some of the world’ s most well-known brands. Also, being in Bath allows choice for staff between city and country living – many of our staff get to work on foot or by bike.”
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2018 has shown a“ sharp uplift” in both turnover and profit across the Inspecs Group, with the organisation acquiring its own industry-accredited manufacturing points in China, Vietnam and the UK. Additionally, it has made plans for the inevitable challenges that will be raised by Brexit. Robin explained:“ Our strategic acquisition of the French-Asian company, Killine, has given us a second headquarters in Lisbon, ensuring access to the EU market post- Brexit.” |
“ Our customers are very loyal, so we hope that Brexit will not cause too much disruption to our business” |
Nutrisure was founded by its CEO, Martin Kemp, in 2006 and comprises of the brands Supernutrients and Naturya.
It is one of the“ largest importers” of superfoods into the UK and Europe. Supernutrients supplies bulk superfoods to a wide variety of businesses which are used as ingredients by manufacturers or repackaged as white label products.
Naturya- the company’ s own brand- started as a range of popular single ingredient superfoods, but in the last few years, has added some ready to eat products, including smoothie blends, snack bars, cereals and jams.
The company aims to make it easier for people to include superfoods in their diet, and to eat nutrient-rich, varied meals.
It employs around 35 people at its head office in Bath and its warehouse in Keynsham and its employees live locally either in Bath, Bristol or surrounding towns and villages.
Founder and CEO Martin Kemp has lived in Bath for many years and established the company close to his home in Combe Down.
He said:“ We love our HQ in Southstoke. We overlook the Midford valley and the views
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are stunning. We are always grateful to take our lunchtime walks in this beautiful environment. Business visitors invariably love it too.”
According to Martin, this financial year will see a“ period of consolidation” while the company enters new channels with its brand, Naturya. Additionally, it has just launched a range of superfood cereals and a new turmeric blend which has just hit the shelves in Holland and Barrett.
With growing consumer interest in nutrition, Martin said that Nutrisure is“ pleased to be involved” in meeting this demand with high-quality organic products.
He continued:“ However, we are bound by strict rules in talking about the nutritional value of our products, and although we approve of the regulations around this, it can be a challenge to talk about the benefits in consumer-friendly language!”
In terms of Brexit, Martin is reasonably optimistic:“ We do a lot of business in Europe,” he explained.“ We have prepared as best we can with our suppliers and our customers are very loyal, so we hope that Brexit will not cause too much disruption to our business.”
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“ Bath is good for business logistically” |
Founded in 2011, Union Jack Oil( UJO) is a UK onshore focused hydrocarbon production, development and exploration company with assets in the Weald Basin( Southern England) and the Humber Basin( North West England.)
According to UJO’ s Executive Chairman, David Bramhill, the company’ s well- the Wressle-2- was a“ major discovery” and produced approximately 750 barrels of oil equivalent per day during test production. The company is awaiting planning permission to be granted in respect of production and when this happens the net cash flow to UJO from Wressle-2 is predicted to be $ 4,000,000.
David- who grew up in Bath- says that UJO is always seeking new production and near-production transactions as a way of growth and, where possible, tries to keep the business support in Bath or the West country.
He said:“ I cannot think of a more beautiful place to operate out of than Bath. Even though the high street is suffering there are still many, many new businesses appearing and thriving – which is a great sign for the future. Bath is good for business logistically and also with a small company, costs are reasonable and one can acquire nearly any service one needs without the London overhead.”
With the shadow of Brexit looming, many business owners could be forgiven for being apprehensive about what the future holds, but David’ s concerns are on a more national level.
“ I do not see Brexit harming UJO because of what we do- but from a personal perspective, I feel it will be a retrograde step for us all. I am very worried that we may be in a twilight zone where business begins to suffer which means that the monies from corporation tax( yes we pay it) and personal taxes are not as free-flowing as they were, leading to an even greater erosion of public services. Anyway, I could write a book on this – maybe I should!”
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