Monthly Archives: July 2021

News

Caribbean Blinds does it again with double award shortlisting at the Growing Business Awards 2021

Sudbury manufacturer Caribbean Blinds is continuing to make waves within the business community after being named as finalists in not one, but two categories at the Growing Business Awards 2021.

The outdoor shading specialists have been shortlisted for both the ‘Consumer Business of the Year’ and ‘Family-Owned Business of the Year’ Awards, where judges were looking for evidence of increased market penetration, consistent profitable growth, a positive impact on the industry, and finally, a competitive edge.

Since 1998, the Growing Business Awards have been bringing together and honouring some of the UK’s most outstanding entrepreneurs and high-growth businesses. Consistent high-quality nominees, an array of categories and a finely-honed judging process have resulted in the Growing Business Awards making a name for themselves as a leading judge of past, current and future entrepreneurial success.

Now entering their 23rd year, the Growing Business Awards are the most credible and highly-valued recognition of exceptional flourishing businesses, which continue to celebrate the strength, vision and resilience of fast-growing SMEs across the UK.

 

Stuart Dantzic, Managing Director at Caribbean Blinds, commented: “The entire team at Caribbean Blinds is so proud to have been shortlisted for both of these awards. Not only have we proven an exceptional route to market and capacity for further growth and scalability, but to be recognised as a solid, family-run business along with so many other credible firms is an honour. Good luck to all the other finalists – we are keeping our fingers tightly crossed!”

The next stage of the awards is ‘Judging Day’, where two senior members of the Caribbean Blinds team will attend an additional interview at London’s JW Marriott Grosvenor House in September. The winners will then be announced at the awards ceremony on Wednesday 24th November 2021.

Undeterred by the effects of the global pandemic, Caribbean Blinds has experienced a wealth of success during the first six months of 2021 so far. In January, it was deemed one of the highest-growing businesses in the East of England and consequently selected to join East Anglia’s prestigious business development scheme: The Future 50.

In addition to this, the firm boasts a number of accomplishments regarding both business and industry awards. In April, Caribbean Blinds were named as finalists for two different awards (The Pro Landscaper Business Awards 2021 and the Family Business of the Year Awards 2021) within the space of just two days, and then went on to win the ‘East and East Anglia Business of the Year’ and ‘Homes and Gardens Business of the Year’ Awards at the latter.

News, North of England

Third deal in a year for Ascensor Digital Agency as they acquire Blue Mantis assets.

Leeds-based digital marketing agency Ascensor has announced their third M&A deal in a year with the acquisition of Blue Mantis assets. The deal, for an undisclosed sum, secures Blue Mantis’ clients, and includes the recruitment of six Blue Mantis employees.

Commenting on the acquisition, Ascensor MD Andrew Firth says:

“This is a strategic opportunity to accelerate the growth of Ascensor, safeguard jobs and provide clients with continuity of service.”

A perfect fit

“The purchase is a perfect fit for Ascensor” says Andrew.  “Blue Mantis have been established for 11 years, with a leading position as a developer of bespoke web software for automotive, retail and professional services clients. This deal complements our existing digital transformation activities for businesses in these sectors, and adds a raft of like-minded talent to our team.”

As part of the deal, Ascensor has recruited the three directors of Blue Mantis. Martyn Lee becomes Head of Client Services, David Eggington joins as a Senior UX designer, and Keith Hill takes up a senior role in the application development team. The recruitment count also includes Chris Nightingale (Senior Account Manager), Megan Lancaster (Service Delivery Manager) and Egle Kreivyte (Back-end Developer).

Andrew Firth adds: “Our purchase brings Blue Mantis clients including JCT600 Vehicle Leasing Solutions and Colin Appleyard from the automotive sector; financial services marketing firm, The Dubs, and consulting firm BWL Consulting. The recruitment ensures that all clients will benefit from the continuity of service and support, but now with the support of a larger team and our processes.”

Third acquisition in a year

Andrew Firth comments: “I’m thrilled to announce our third acquisition in a year, which follows our 2020 asset and client purchase from Bradford-based web design and app development business Webposse, together with its associated web hosting firm ClaretMedia LLP.  This latest acquisition demonstrates our continued appetite for growth and acquiring businesses which provide a strong strategic fit with our plans, and helps us to continue to grow our highly talented team.”

Commenting on the deal, Martyn Lee says: ‘This is a very exciting time for my colleagues and I. Ascensor are well established and we’ve admired their work from afar. Becoming part of their journey and bringing our expertise and long-established clients with us creates the perfect win-win situation”.

Established in 2007, Ascensor has grown rapidly in recent years, achieving turnover growth of more than 50% in 2020 and 2019. Their target for 2021 is £3.0M. The acquisition of Blue Mantis brings the total headcount at Ascensor to 36 employees.

Ascensor recently moved to state-of-the-art offices in Leeds, including dedicated events space for educational seminars, to business and community partners. They recently won Best Large Digital Agency of the Year in the Northern Digital Awards and achieved ISO27001 information security accreditation.

 

 

News

Quantum Group adopts a hybrid work approach model with new offices to fuel next phase of innovation and growth

Quantum Group, the investment group which holds a leading portfolio of companies active in the technology and fintech sectors today announced the expansion of its London offices to further support their next phase of growth.

Within the Quantum Group portfolio are companies such as Tail, which provides cashback solutions for banks, such as Monzo and Starling Bank and eliminates the need for loyalty cards or vouchers, by transferring cashback directly to customers’ bank accounts after purchase; Volopa, an international payments and business expense solutions for consumers and businesses, Vantage and security specialists Valkyrie.

To support the rapid growth and expansion of their Fintech companies which have already outgrown their current premises; Tail, Volopa and Vantage, will move into new offices located in Victoria, opposite from the station for added convenience for those commuting and provides boardrooms, meeting rooms, break-out areas, as well as extras such as bike racks, changing rooms and showers! All the essentials required to welcome the teams to their new ‘Work Away from Home’. Whereas Quantum Group HQ and Valkyrie will move into new premises in Belgrave Square. Both office locations have been carefully selected to reflect each company’s identity and future growth plans.

Managing a portfolio of different companies and teams would usually raise challenges due to differing corporate cultures and business values but we’ve been lucky to have a strong leadership team at the head of all our companies – that have successfully installed a common vision that is shared by the Quantum Group and its management team.

“Our portfolio of companies is growing very quickly and to continue to deliver innovative and high-quality services to our customers, we need to focus on what it is that we actually do and do it well. To that end, we have made sure that we have the best possible structure in place, with a group of companies that complement and support each other. There are significant crossovers in our portfolio companies that allow us to remain agile and drive efficiency. This has facilitated the decision to also bring together certain companies of our portfolio under common offices, enabling cross team engagement and collaborations to further drive innovation of our products and the growth of our portfolio,” comments Floyd Woodrow, CEO and Founder of Quantum Group.

Many of our teams also became accustomed to working remotely during the pandemic and now that social distancing is slowly being lifted, and businesses start to reopen, it was important to continue to support both our employees that wished to continue flexible remote-work arrangements and those that wished for a more in-office approach.

Floyd says, “We experienced how successful flexible remote working was across all our companies and teams during the pandemic, and how the standard 9-to-5 working hours can differ without any impact to overall productivity – in contrary we saw a significant uplift in productivity during these times. Offering flexible work arrangements has become the new norm and can bring with it many advantages and by allowing our employees the flexibility to work from home while still maintaining some in-person collaboration is the future of work. To ensure we continue to provide a secure and safe environment to our employees during COVID, we have also installed a rotating day schedule on different days for employees wishing to be in-office.”

Quantum Group is one of many companies, who have realised the importance of implementing a remote and hybrid working model across their business and how this provides many opportunities in terms of improving recruitment, diversity and employee retention, improved attendance and productivity, employee engagement by creating a better work/life balance and also contribute to minimising their carbon workplace ‘footprints’ to support sustainability efforts. Tech and fintech companies such as Currencycloud, Revolut, Google, Apple, Microsoft, Salesforce, Facebook and Amazon have all announced earlier this year that they are adopting a flexible remote hybrid approach to work.

Floyd further adds, “It’s an exciting phase of Quantum Group and the move into this new office, combined with that of implementing a hybrid work model is a real testament to our portfolio of companies to provide them with the right environment to support their well-being and their exceptional ability to generate value for our customers and drive the next phase of innovation and growth.”

About Quantum Group

Quantum Group is a leading fintech investment incubator, delivering regulated financial solutions through a range of core products, including state-of-the-art security innovations. When combined with integrated hardware, world-class service delivery, top-flight management and technical expertise sitting within all of Quantum’s investment arms, Quantum delivers practical real-world solutions at the highest levels. Through both its media arm and investments in software, Quantum has built a streamlined group with a balanced portfolio of capabilities.

For more information: https://quantumgroup.uk/

News

European Management Journal on the rise

The European Management Journal’s new impact factor was released in June 2021, jumping to 5.075 from 2.369.

The European Management Journal (EMJ) is a flagship scholarly journal, publishing internationally leading research across all areas of management. It is owned by ESCP Business School and the University of Glasgow.

“With an impact factor over 5 – a culmination of many years’ hard work – the European Management Journal is now on par with, or above, other world-class management journals, confirming its global reach and status,” stated Co-Editor Minas Kastanakis, Professor of Marketing at ESCP’s London Campus, EMJ’s Editor-in-Chief from 2018 until April 2021.

ESCP’s Professor of Management Maral Muratbekova-Touron will join the EMJ as a Co-Editor in Chief in March 2022 and move to the role of Editor in Chief in 2024, succeeding Professor of Management Sarah Robinson from the University of Glasgow.

The European Management Journal is available online.

Automotive, News, North of England

UK needs to swiftly amplify accessibility of chargepoints

Written by Mr. Kunal Sawhney, CEO, Kalkine Media

Building an efficient electric vehicle (EV) landscape is not only about making the vehicles affordable to purchase and own, but it also entails several other factors, including the post-sale services, charging infrastructure and availability of chargepoints in rural and semi-urbanised localities.

The government of the United Kingdom, alongside the major EV manufacturers and ancillary suppliers, are collectively working to increase the perceived value of the vehicles that can encourage more consumers to buy eco-friendly vehicles in the present decade, thereby supporting the nation’s plan to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030.

The elimination of all the fossil fuel powered passenger vehicles by 2035 from the roads will be pivotal in bolstering the broader objective of attaining a net zero status by 2050.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has laid out several measures to make sure that there is an ample number of EV chargepoints in the country by the time the authorities put a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in 2030.

According to the CMA, the availability of EV chargepoints has been increasing relatively well at locations including private parking garages, driveways, shopping centres and workplaces, but several parts are still facing problems that can hinder the government’s plans of embargoing the sale of new petrol and diesel cars.

A potential delay in the near-term objectives, including the ban on petrol and diesel cars, can certainly extend the timeline of the larger objective of becoming net zero nation by 2050. At the moment, the rural jurisdictions only account for a handful of EV chargepoints, mostly due to lower investment, while the roll-out of on-street charge stations by the local authorities is witnessing very slow growth in the installation.

As far as the driver’s ease is concerned, a large section of car owners, including the commercial drivers, will rely on the on-street chargepoints as nobody has sufficient time to detour to a shopping centre every time when the vehicle needs a backup, while workplaces can only establish a few chargepoints due to space constraints.

As of now, the total public chargepoints in Yorkshire and the Humber per head are quarter as compared to those available in London. Recharging your vehicle certainly requires a high amount of time as compared to refilling with petrol or diesel, as a result of which, it can be burdensome for drivers when there is an emergency.

The level of difficulty and frustration in accessing a chargepoint can abate the apparent enthusiasm amidst the car buyers, it could even lead to an immense disappointment and will eventually diminish the number of people who are looking forward to switching to an EV.

The transformation at such a large scale unequivocally requires added advantages, and, at the same time, there must be ease of switching to EVs from the conventional vehicles and age-old habit of quick refilling. Furthermore, the vast difference in the prices and tariffs set by privately held chargepoints can induce concerns about the reliability of charge stations.

As the EV ecosystem passes the nascent stage, people often find it difficult to compare prices for recharging the vehicles. In order to facilitate an experience like a refuelling station, the authorities are required to ensure that the recharging stations must have quick service chargepoints and transparent pricing.

All the operations chargepoints should be easy-to-locate, the working condition should be updated regularly in EVs that have a lower buffer of energy as compared to petrol or diesel vehicles. Along with this, the charging experience should be simple and quick to pay, with no obligatory requirement of signing up or registration and an abundance of payment options.

Uniformity of chargepoints should also be maintained as with the limited number of stations, the country is not in a position to bifurcate the recharging places for different types of vehicles. As per the estimates of the competition regular, the present count of chargepoints in the UK stands at 25,000, while more than 10 times this number will be required if the government wants to eliminate the petrol and diesel vehicles within the predefined time period.

Employee Engagement, News, Thought Leadership

Delivering strong leadership for a fast-growth business

Written by Janette Martin, CEO of 360 Resourcing

Businesses have faced several unknowns over the last 18 months, highlighting the importance of strong leadership to support and guide teams, especially when the ease of face-to-face interaction was stripped away so suddenly. This has made the art of communication and engagement a vital leadership skill that is essential to inspire, motivate and celebrate our teams.

 

Employee engagement

Employee engagement is so strongly linked to customer retention and business growth, that it should be a number one priority for any business leader. A positive step towards this is the creation of a clear culture and company values to help employees feel emotionally connected to their work and that they are making a difference.

I recall in 2007 I joined a business with undefined culture and was standing still in terms of growth. By instilling strong behaviours, internal culture and clear expectations, the business was transformed into a consistent and high performing business.  Company culture is the foundation of a business, it brings the team together to create purpose, innovation, and a shared vision, so it is not surprising that it is linked to business success.

A defined company culture should feed into hiring practises too; bringing in people that match your culture and align with your vision is vital to overall employee engagement and ultimate business success. People don’t like to see a high staff turnover with peers coming and going from an organisation, they thrive on high job satisfaction, promotions and development. A business that stands out to candidates and employees for all the right reasons helps to attract the right skill set and retain the talent that will maximise consistency and deliver results.

In the early days of my own career, ‘women in leadership’ was not the hot topic it is today but developing women into leadership roles is key to business success. A good example of this, in a business where all leadership roles happened to be women, we were achieving 133% growth year on year. Our team was engaged and empowered; however it is not about hiring just women into the workplace, it’s about diversity and inclusion and surrounding yourself with fresh and different points of view. Leaders need to embrace people’s differences to enable innovation by bringing together distinct opinions, ideas and backgrounds.

 

Encourage entrepreneurialism

The best advice anyone ever gave to me in my early career was ‘what would you do if it was your business?’. If everyone within a business is empowered to make decisions and empowered to innovate success has no limits. Investing in your people so that they are confident, passionate and their personal goals match the business goals, the growth opportunities ahead of you are vast. Having an empowered workforce and instilling a passion for growth and customer service are vital ingredients to business success.

Strong leadership is about taking the whole team on a journey and encouraging them to think for themselves.  If you have to be authoritarian, then you’ve lost your people and as a leader you have not conveyed your vision and goals well enough.  There might be times when decisions need to be made quickly to react to the market, this shouldn’t be the overall style of management. For micro-managing to be necessary, something must be off-balance, either poor leadership style or wrong person for the job.  Leaders who micro-manage are not empowering, inspiring or even really leading.

 

Communication and collaboration

The way leaders communicate to their teams has changed quite significantly as working from home, flexible working and virtual meetings have become the norm. Provided the vision, goals and culture you have developed are clear and inspire everyone to work together, this new way of communicating should evolve and fall into place. Consistent communication is essential to progress these goals and make everyone feel involved in the journey.

During a significant growth phase, openly discussing company culture and messaging is imperative to safeguard its place at the heart of your business. At 360 Resourcing this is something everyone is passionate to do.  Growth is an exciting time for any business, and it is easy to get over-excited and forget about the end goal, which is where strong leadership should help to keep the objectives clear and top of mind.

How we move forward now is key; leaders must keep talking to their people to understand what they want and how it can be delivered. Covid-19 has sparked a transformation of working and hiring practices and we, as leaders, need to adapt our businesses with it. Attracting the best talent and bringing them with you on the wider business journey will be fundamental to ongoing business success.

To learn more visit https://www.360resourcing.co.uk

News

Uberall survey reveals consumer preference for ‘phygital’ retail

Contact-free payment and ability to text message businesses are important to over 80 percent of UK consumers 

Uberall, the leading provider of ‘Near Me’ customer experience marketing solutions, today announced the findings of its survey of over 1,000 UK consumers and their current shopping behaviour.

During COVID, the world naturally gravitated towards ecommerce. However, Uberall research shows that local business locations are still essential to UK consumers, and that today’s consumers favour ‘phygital’ retail that merges digital and physical retail, taking the best elements of each to enhance both, and optimise customer experience.

Consumer in-store visits begin online

Long gone are the days when consumers got in their cars, drove to different stores and wandered around to find what they needed. Consumers now search online first before heading to the high street. In fact, the majority of consumers (79%) use Google to find local business information.

Nearly one in four consumers consults content-specific websites/apps for things like travel, real estate, and restaurants, and approximately every fifth consumer says they also use TripAdvisor and Apple Maps to find the information they need. Consequently, a strong online presence across different channels is essential, because despite Google’s dominance, consumers are using a multitude of search platforms and directories to find local business information.

Online reviews drive in-store visits 

Throughout the pandemic, businesses have strived to maintain customer engagement by sharing relevant news and updates on websites, business profiles and email. While these digital channels are effective, another pillar of customer communication is social media and online review management.

Uberall research shows that 78 percent of UK consumers look to Google online for local business reviews, followed by one in three consumers consulting Facebook, one in four checking Tripadvisor, and one in five seeking out Trustpilot. Nearly one-third of UK consumers look at multiple review sites before making a buying decision.

Given the large proportion of consumers that rely on online reviews, businesses can significantly increase customer engagement and build trust by being responsive to online reviews. Add to that, Google considers the number of reviews and a business’s review score in selecting its all important top three search results – especially important for businesses striving to stand out online and drive foot traffic in store.

Digital convenience drives offline sales

In essence, shoppers want retailers to make it easy for them to find and buy products, both online and in-store. Contact free payment is important to 81 percent of UK consumers, with four out of ten stating they are more likely to come back to stores or restaurants that offer contact-free payments like Apple or Google Pay.

The pandemic has also changed consumer expectations about the immediacy of customer service responses, as well as the available ways to connect with stores digitally. 80 percent of those surveyed said the ability to text a business about products, services or hours is important, and it seems businesses are listening, with more and more outlets offering customers the ability to ask questions via text and book appointments with businesses.

The use of smart speakers to shop and buy via voice has also risen for UK consumers. In 2019, only 10 percent of consumers stated they used voice search daily and 57 percent reported that they never use voice search, per Uberall research. Now, close to one-third of consumers (30 percent) report that they have completed a purchase on a smart speaker, like Google Home or Amazon Alexa, in the last year.

Conclusion

Businesses can’t afford to think of online and in-store commerce as separate activities anymore. Consumers have a multitude of options at hand when it comes to finding the products and services they need. As a result, brands that are responsive to shopper’s wants and needs – and make their services more convenient, accessible and customer-focused – stand the best chance of winning the business of today’s phygital consumer.

 

Survey methodology:

Total sample size was 1,006 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken 23-27 April 2021. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+). Male and female respondents were split evenly.

News, Retail

UK Shoppers Expected To Spend £120.5bn Online In 2021 – £10bn More Than 2020

Following a surge in online sales in 2020 thanks to Covid-19, UK shoppers are predicted to further increase their spending as new data forecasts £120.48bn of online purchases in 2021.1

The VoucherCodes.co.uk Life after Covid: Prospects for online retailing, physical stores, and how we pay report, carried out by the Centre of Retail Research (CRR), examines the impact of the pandemic on both online and offline retailing. It also looks ahead to 2021 and 2022 to understand how online sales will be impacted as the UK recuperates from Covid.

Despite a turbulent year, during 2020 online sales in the UK saw a significant increase of 46.5%, with British consumers spending £110.6bn online as physical stores were forced to close during long periods of lockdown. Despite physical stores re-opening in April 2021, a further increase of £10bn (9%) is expected for online sales this year.

UK consumers are buying more goods online than ever and by the end of 2021, online sales will make up almost a third (30.2%) of overall retail spending. This is 11% more than the share in 2019, pre-pandemic.

Looking ahead to 2022, total online spend will begin to level out, marginally increasing by 0.10% to £120.6bn. However, it is estimated that the share of online sales as a proportion of total retail spend will fall to 28.1% as people get back to shopping at a mix of online and offline retailers.

In terms of the performance of physical outlets during the pandemic, total sales in bricks and mortar stores fell by a colossal £35.3bn when comparing the period 2019-2020 to 2020-2021. However, the report shows a steady recovery for the year ahead, with a forecasted increase of £3.9bn (1.4%) in physical sales in 2021.

Despite the rise in physical store sales, it is expected that there will be a large disparity between food and non-food stores. Non-food sales in physical stores are expected to rise by 10% (£12.5bn) between 2020 and 2021, reaching £137.1bn as people return to the shops after long periods of closure. Food sales on the other hand will see a 5.4% decline from 2020 to the 2021 forecast as life returns to normal and people spend less time eating and drinking at home.

 

UK online and physical retail sales: 2018-2020 actuals and 2021-2022 forecasts in £billions

Year  Total online sales Total sales in physical stores 
Total  Food Non-food Total  Food Non-food
2018 £68.455 £9.052 £59.403 £312.247 £154.237 £158.010
2019 £75.478 £9.058 £66.421 £318.167 £158.640 £159.528
2020 £110.58 £16.293 £94.282 £284.213 £159.569 £124.644
2021 forecast £120.489 £19.366 £101.123 £288.099 £150.939 £137.160
2022 forecast £120.625 £20.411 £100.215 £308.392 £154.663 £153.729

 

Despite the upward projections, nearly two thirds (60.5%) of consumers think they will spend less online than they did during lockdown. Almost a quarter (23%) say they will spend just as much as they did during periods of lockdown, and 16.5% say they will spend more online.

Anita Naik, Lifestyle Editor at VoucherCodes.co.uk, commented: “The pandemic has acted as a catalyst for many changes in the retail industry, especially the migration of more consumers to online shops and people relying more heavily on online retailers than in the past.

“Despite a difficult economic period, it’s encouraging for the UK’s retail industry to see that shoppers are still keen to spend money in-store as well as online. Whilst physical stores have struggled over the past year, it’s great to see a real desire from consumers to get back to shopping in-store.

“That said, it’s important for people to remember to purchase within their means and shop around for the best deals.”

For more details, the Life after Covid: Prospects for online retailing, physical stores, and how we pay report can be found here https://www.vouchercodes.co.uk/savings-guides/guides-reports/life-after-covid-prospects#online-retailing

 

Appointments, News

Hootsuite welcomes Maggie Lower as Chief Marketing Officer

Maggie will oversee Hootsuite’s global marketing organisation

Hootsuite, the leader in social media management solutions, is pleased to announce that Maggie Lower joined the company today as Chief Marketing Officer. In her role as a key member of Hootsuite’s executive leadership team, Maggie will own the brand’s overall global strategy, demand generation, communications, and events.

“As I searched for a CMO to join the company to help drive this phase of growth, I knew I was looking for a modern marketer,” said Tom Keiser, CEO of Hootsuite. “Maggie is exactly that. She has spent her career combining both the art and science of marketing to drive exceptional results for global brands and I look forward to working with her as we rapidly grow and transform our company and this industry.”

With a marketing career spanning more than two decades, across various industries including financial services, staffing and technology, Maggie has established herself as an exceptional business and thought leader. Prior to joining Hootsuite, Maggie was the Global Chief Marketing Officer at Cision, the first Chief Marketing Officer at TrueBlue, has held marketing leadership roles at Alight and Aon Hewitt, and spent 15 years at Bank of America, building world class marketing teams.

“Hootsuite is an iconic brand that forged a category – they anticipated how people would connect with the world well before social media became part of the household vernacular,” said Maggie Lower. “I’m honoured to join this incredibly talented, purpose-driven leadership team that is bringing global communities together as we navigate one of the most dynamic economic periods in history.”

Maggie volunteers as a member of the Peer 150 Marketing Advisory Board, serves as an executive mentor for The Marketing Academy US, helping develop and nurture top talent within the marketing, advertising, and communications industries, and is a leader in The Collective, an LGBTQIA+ executive forum striving to create more connectivity in the workplace to drive diversity, equity and inclusion. She is an executive mentor in the Berlin-based Rahm Group, supporting LGBT+ professionals aspiring to C-level roles, and has been named to OUTstanding’s Top 100 Global Executives List for three consecutive years.

“Maggie is not only a talented marketing and business executive, she is a true community leader who exudes empathy and warmth – we are all so happy to welcome her to the Hootsuite nest,” added Keiser.

News

RIMES adds ESG solution to its Managed Data Services

New service solves the problem of ESG data management for Investment Managers looking to identify truly sustainable assets

This week, RIMES, a strategic data partner for financial institutions, launches its ESG data management solution, powered by RIMES’ Managed Data Services (MDS). A new, cost-effective and flexible solution, it helps asset management firms quickly access high-quality data to evaluate the sustainable credentials of any asset for enterprise-wide use.

The global sustainable investment industry has evolved rapidly in recent years. According to PwC more than half the money invested in funds in Europe could be managed by explicitly ESG strategies by 2025, representing an almost 30% growth rate from 2019. However, despite more interest in ESG, there is no global standardised ESG disclosure requirements today. This means asset management firms struggle to find, understand and trust the ESG data they need to pinpoint truly sustainable assets. As new sources come to market and regulatory scrutiny intensifies, firms are exposed to more and more risk.

RIMES’ new ESG solution addresses this issue. It is a fully managed, end-to-end cloud-based service that offers transparent and actionable ESG data through;

  • An industry-leading, vendor agnostic library of ESG sources

  • Extensive cross-referencing and harmonisation across sources

  • Mapping from issuer to issue

  • A suite of desktop and analytics tools.

Unlike technology-led solutions, RIMES’ fully managed service model and lean data management approach results in enhanced data quality for insights, greater operational efficiencies, better resource allocation and faster time to market and time to quality.

Elisabeth Seep, ESG Project Manager, RIMES commented: “RIMES’ ESG solution was developed to remove the burden of ESG data management from asset management firms who are challenged with identifying sustainable assets and actionable ESG data effectively. ESG integration is no longer a nice-to-have.  Any firm serious about long-term success needs to be addressing ESG now and ensuring that they have in place robust data management and reporting capabilities required to provide clients and regulators transparency within portfolios and products regarding E, S, G and climate factors”

RIMES’ ESG solution is built on three core principles:

  • Improve business outcomes: Deliver trusted, timely, accurate and complete data seamlessly across the enterprise. Free up capacity to generate data insights that drive growth and differentiation.

  • Eliminate waste: Embed a proven service model that solves the complex operational data management problem efficiently without the need for additional people or technology investment.

  • Enhance adaptability: Future-proof data management with a transparent, comprehensive cloud-based service and expert advisory. Become highly responsive to business needs and evolve with the market.