16 business focus


Could restaurants be the next high street victim on the menu?


There’s no doubt that the retail environment is forever changing, writes John Kirkpatrick, partner, Southampton office, Wilkins Kennedy.


A combination of the recession and a growth in technology has made people’s attitudes differ towards the way they are spending their hard-earned cash. At the moment in most towns and cities around the UK, footfall is generally high and there are very few empty units. But, for others this is a very different story.


The recession has been relentless and no matter how large or small the shop – from the independents to the larger chains – the change in people’s spending has ultimately claimed victims from across the retail landscape.


But, it seems that one of the reasons for recovery has actually been the way people spend their money and it has caused quite a radical shift in the


education & business


High aspirations for multi-academy trust


Banbury, Bicester and High Wycombe accountancy firm Whitley Stimpson has won a competitive tender to become auditors of the Aspirations Academies Trust


This appointment continues the significant growth of Whitley Stimpson’s dedicated education services team, which now works with over 50 academies and schools throughout the UK, having advised them through the conversion process as well as continuing to provide a range of financial support and advice in addition to the annual audit and financial reporting compliance processes.


The Aspirations Academies Trust, which includes academies in West London, Banbury, Poole and Bournemouth, is a charitable organisation dedicated to promoting and putting into practice the conditions that foster student aspirations in schools and learning communities.


Commenting on Whitley Stimpson’s www.businessmag.co.uk


appointment, Steve Kenning, CEO of Aspirations Academies Trust, said: “We are delighted to be working with Whitley Stimpson’s expert team who have demonstrated an in-depth understanding of the education sector and importantly, a strong commitment to our core values. We are confident that through the team’s guidance and ongoing support, we will continue growing to become one of the leading multi-academy trusts in the UK.”


The transition to academy status requires schools to negotiate a myriad of business and government regulations, which makes seeking professional advice from financial experts fundamental to making a successful academy.


All of Whitley Stimpson’s education services team are fully trained on the


financial, governance and reporting requirements for academies, including those set out in the Academies Financial Handbook and related guidance issued by the Education Funding Agency.


Martin Wyatt, head of education services at Whitley Stimpson, said: “It’s fantastic news that we are going to be working with one of the most dynamic and exciting multi-academy trusts in the country and a reflection of my team’s commitment to the continuous improvement of services for the education sector. We are all very much looking forward to helping the Aspirations Academies Trust in achieving their students’ dreams by ensuring the financial operations and accountability in each academy are seamless and robust.”


From left: Ann Simmonds, Martin Wyatt, Andrew Jeffrey, Jennifer Jewitt (finance director of South Hunsley School - speaker at the ABC), Ian Parker and Andy Jones


directors, bursars and finance governors to share knowledge and best practices, and comes at a time when the Government is calling for tighter regulations and financial accountability.


The next ABC event will be held at Banbury Cricket Club in late June 2014.


As part of its continuing commitment to the sector, Whitley Stimpson recently launched an Academies Brunch Club (ABC), designed to provide a free and open platform for school business managers, finance


Details: academies@whitleystimpson.co.uk www.whitleystimpson.co.uk


way the high street performs. New phenomena such as “showrooming”, which allows a customer to try out products in a store of their choice before completing their purchases online, has allowed for retailers to adapt their strategy to embrace this new way to shop – even setting up specially designated “pop-up shops” for this purpose.


Customers are also getting much savvier, and they know that if they shop around, they can get the best price – this applies to both the high street shops and online. Again, retailers have been able to adapt to allow for this, even able to offer online-only deals or omni-channel strategies, which means they can cater to their customer’s demands much better.


Therefore it appears that whilst in some areas, the retail environment is almost reviving itself, other areas continue to fall into decline.


Yes, many areas have a thriving town


centre, but on the outskirts where footfall is much lower, there is often more unoccupied premises. But, this brings mixed blessings, as not only do these bring cheaper rents, they can also provide more cut price goods as the lower overheads are passed on to customers. Therefore, units that become free in that area tend to get snapped up quickly.


There’s no doubt that in an area like Southampton where there is a high volume of shops, there is massive competition for other businesses, such as independent retailers or restaurants, and this makes it all the more difficult for them to survive.


Here at Wilkins Kennedy, we have seen a steady increase in the number of restaurant insolvencies in the area in the past 12 months or so. In the main they have been new entrants to the market which have been unable to take enough business from the established restaurants and have struggled particularly against the large chains.


It is difficult to imagine the situation improving for many restaurants in the foreseeable future, although the same could have been said for the retail landscape as recently as a year ago. The decline of the high street presence for retailers should in theory mean that there is more space for other businesses to move in, and there could even be lessons to learn from the retail sector in terms of offering customers better technology, better offers and a smoother checkout process.


Of course, there’s no place for the restaurant online, but it can still be interchangeable with the physical presence – there is also space for incentives to offer for returning customers. But, in order to improve such figures, restaurants of the future will have a lot to learn.


Details: John Kirkpatrick 0118-9512131 John.kirkpatrick@wilkinskennedy.com www.wilkinskennedy.com


THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – MAY 2014


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60