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businessupdate News…


Foodfirmssecures contract with hospitals A


ward-winning prepared foods manufacturer Tillery Valley has secured a significant three-


year contract to provide delivered meals to five NHS hospitals situated within Wolverhampton, West Bromwich and Walsall. South Wales-based Tillery


Valley was selected to provide the daily deliveries for the Black Country Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. The contract, worth an


annual £280,000, will see chilled and frozen meals provided by Tillery Valley, supplied to the Partnership’s five hospitals across the West Midlands. These are Health Lane, Penn,


Edward Street, Orchard Hills and Pond Lane hospital. Tillery Valley has been


supplying meals to Penn hospital within the partnership since March 2008. The extension of this service to five NHS units across the Trust comes into operation following a competitive tender. From its production site in


Jeff Dunlop, Operations Manager, and Gary Landon Jones, Shift Manager, at Tillery Valley


Abertillery, Tillery Valley supplies upwards of 600,000 prepared meals each week to healthcare services, the education sector, local authorities and community delivery schemes across the UK. The site has the capacity to produce one


million meals aweek. Tillery Valley also operates atailored meal


service to care homes and provides large- scale catering for major national events. The Black Country Partnership NHS


Foundation Trust brings together anumber of NHS trusts to improve the health and


wellbeing of people of all ages across the Black Country. The partnership is amajor provider of


mental health, learning disability and community healthcare services, operating a variety of centres across the Black Country region. The wide range of services available allows them to provide integrated care and support tailored to each individual’s needs. Peter Marrs, sales director at Tillery Valley,


said: “Tillery Valley has awealth of experience in supplying meals for healthcare service providers, and we are delighted that this has


been recognised with this valuable contract with the Black Country Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.” Joe Kimberley, head of estates and


facilities at the Black Country Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are committed to providing high quality, tailored care and support to all those using our services. Tillery Valley’s dedication to providing extensive choice as well as nutritional quality will help us to continue to deliver the high standard of care that we strive for.”


‘Investorspay£58minneedlessfees’


Research from Tredegar-based InvestSmart reveals that investors in Wales are paying £172 each in needless ‘trail fees’.


‘Trail’ commission is on-


going amounts deducted from your funds and paid to advisers in the years after you buy an investment. It is intended to cover the


cost of providing regular reviews, but it is paid even if you no longer see your adviser and they do nothing for you. The investment specialist


•94per cent of investors don’t know what trail commission is. Trail commission will


be banned after 1January 2013 but investors will still pay it on existing investments. Many will be getting nothing in return. InvestSmart’s research


InvestSmart has been launched to put money back in funds and provide regular fund performance reviews. Its research shows that:


•£58m in ‘trail commission’ being paid needlessly every year –that’s £172 per investor in Wales


Ton Russell


shows that only 10 per cent of investors in Wales were aware of new regulation covering retail financial advice taking effect from January next year. The regulation, called the


‘Retail Distribution Review’, will mean that financial advisers have to charge the client a fee rather than earn money from commission, paid by the investment provider. Most investments have trail commission


built in, but nine out of ten investors don’t know what trail commission is. InvestSmart is anew investment specialist


which puts 50 per cent of an investor’s trail commission back into their fund, immediately saving them money. It also provides afree annual review of fund performance, with afee- based independent advice service if necessary. Not only are investors in Wales unwittingly


paying too much commission, but they are neglecting to check how well their investments are doing, potentially not addressing poor performance. More than 80 per cent of investors have


not reviewed their portfolio for over ayear according to InvestSmart’s research. Tom Russell, CEO of InvestSmart, said: “If


you are well looked after by your adviser that’s fine. Our aim is to provide aservice for those investors who have been ‘orphaned’. They are the ones paying the most and receiving the least and we think it’s time that changed.”


Tuesday June 19, 2012


Financially speaking


By Cennydd Thomas, corporatefinance manager, UHY Peacheys


There is an old adage in sport and in business: ‘fail to prepare, prepare to fail’.


No self-respecting football team


would turn up at the current European Championships without having properly prepared. The manager is not only


responsible for picking the best players and formation; he also has to manage the expectations of the press and fans. This is comparable to the way in


which acompany’s managing director acts. He or she must select the best


staff and strategy, while managing the expectations of shareholders and funders. In small businesses, the


managing director is more of a player-manager. This presents the problem of spending too much time playing and not enough time managing, in that they are so involved in the day-to-day operations of the business that they rarely perform any of the functions of effective management. This can have negative consequences when planning for the longer-term. Let’s say you want to sell your


company in five years’ time. Things like designing and implementing robust systems and controls now, or preparing detailed and realistic projections, will not only help ensure that the company is more profitable in the short-term, but will also help ensure that the value of the business is not eroded when it comes time to sell. To continue with the football


analogy, if you are currently spending too much of your valuable time on the pitch then please get in touch.


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