PREMIER MEMBERS GREATER BIRMINGHAM’S LEADING COMPANIES


ollywood star Richard Gere took time out from his busy schedule to visit national


with our work and the people we work with.” Gere has a particular interest in


homelessness charity Crisis


recently. Gere, star of ‘An Officer and a


Gentleman’ and ‘American Gigolo’ met with men and women who the charity has helped rebuild their lives after finding themselves homeless. He learned about Crisis’ various


employment, housing and education initiatives and heard from chief executive Jon Sparkes about the charity’s campaigning work to end homelessness. Mr Sparkes said: “Our clients


were thrilled to meet Richard, he was really interested in their stories. He clearly understood the issues and experiences of homelessness they face and was really impressed


the homeless issue – in his newly released firm, this ‘Time Out of Mind’, he plays George, a homeless New Yorker, whose friendship with a fellow rough sleeper inspires him to repair a broken relationship with his estranged daughter. Alongside Centrepoint, Crisis has


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Film star tackles homelessness H


been helping Gere to raise awareness of the issues surrounding homelessness, during a promotional tour for the film in the UK, including Glasgow and Dublin International film festivals, as well as the film’s London premiere. Altitude Films, distributor of


‘Time Out of Mind’, has agreed to donate ten per cent of the film’s profits to Crisis and Centrepoint.


Digital content users get more rights


The UK’s new Consumer Rights Act has given customers of digital content more rights. According to patent and trademark attorney Marks & Clerk, suppliers


and developers must now ensure that digital content paid for meets certain standards, such as being of satisfactory quality fit for purpose and as described. In the event of non-conformity, consumers now have a right of repair


or replacement within a reasonable time and, where this is impossible, the right to a refund on some or all of the price paid. Marks & Clerk associate Jake Hayes said: “Content developers and


suppliers will need to review how their content is described, their terms and conditions of sale and their refund policies to ensure compliance.”


Tom cooks up appointment


Birmingham’s newest hotel, Park Regis, has appointed Tom Biddle as executive chef, with responsibility for all of the hotel’s food and beverage offerings. The 253-bedroom four-star hotel


will have two restaurants, the fourth floor 1565 Restaurant and the Pan-Asian rooftop restaurant and bar on the 16th floor. The hotel’s executive lounge will


also offer food and drink to guests while its 15th floor conference and meeting spaces will have banqueting options for up to 160 delegates. Tom, who trained at UCB, joins


Park Regis after a string of high- profile catering roles, including most recently at Tudor Park Marriott in Kent, where he became the group’s youngest ever head chef at the age of 25. He said: “This is the first Park Regis hotel in the northern


20 CHAMBERLINK APRIL 2016


hemisphere and I’m looking forward to starting with a new team, new kitchens and new equipment. The 1565 restaurant has a modern, contemporary theme and will feature signature dishes, grills and classics, as well as traditional dishes from the Midlands area. “It has a seasonal menu and we


are working with local suppliers. “The upper four-star quality that


we’re offering will really help us make a difference against our competitors in the area.”


Let’s get cooking: Chef Tom Biddle


Helping the homeless: Richard Gere (centre) with some of the Crisis clients – including Jon Sparkes, second from his left


Paving the way for Chinese investment


A Midlands law firm has visited Shanghai in a bid to raise its profile in the Far East, and also that of Birmingham as a business destination. The law firm is Harrison Clark


Rickerbys (HCR), which has an office in Calthorpe Road, and its representatives on the trip were the firm’s acting chairman, Jonathan Whitbread, and Nicolas Groffman, HCR’s head of international. The trip was co-ordinated by the


China Britain Business Council (CBBC) and Shanghai’s Bureau of Commerce. Raising HCR’s profile in China


was a key objective, alongside developing relations with Shanghai government agencies responsible for investment in the UK. The HCR pair met four major Chinese law firms, a Chinese automotive manufacturer, global finance giant Fosun and Sinopec’s oil trading subsidiary. They also visited the Shanghai headquarters of the US food giant Cargill, and ATS Automation. One result is that HCR is now on


Fosun’s panel for UK legal work. Nicolas Groffman said: “This


wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t made the effort to come out here. They need to cover their bases in the UK, and their usual counsel in London won’t be right for every type of regional deal.


‘It is not good enough just to have a great financial and commercial environment’


There are plenty of other Chinese companies in a similar situation.” The pair said that Birmingham


was an ideal business partner for the Chinese, not only because of its central location and good transport links to the UK, but also for other important key factors. Among these is family


movement – Chinese corporate investment is inevitably accompanied by family movement, because East-West investment requires human commitment in the long term. Whereas US-UK investment takes just six months for acclimatisation to business culture, and Europe-UK investment around one year, China-UK investment takes around four years. Mr Whitbread said: “It is not


good enough just to have a great financial and commercial environment – there needs to be excellence with regard to the human environment also, and therefore the low cost of good housing and the availability of good schools makes Birmingham an obvious choice for the Chinese.”


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