Monthly Archives: February 2023

News

GP services and diagnostic private sector growing rapidly, says boss of Spire Healthcare

Use of independent GP appointments and diagnostic referrals are likely to grow significantly in 2023, predicts the boss of one of the UK’s largest private hospital providers.

In an interview for Newcross Healthcare’s Voices of Care podcast, Justin Ash, Chief Executive Officer of Spire Healthcare, said the NHS and the independent sector have worked together successfully for years to reduce waiting lists. During the pandemic this expanded as the private system provided resources to ease the burden on over-stretched NHS hospitals.

Now, as access to GP appointments becomes a growing issue for patients, the UK is seeing an explosion in private GP services, with a recent report showing that searches for private GPs increased 156% across three years to 2022.

Justin Ash explained: “We know that the GP service is hard-pressed. Many people are saying they’re finding it hard to get a face-to-face appointment. The Spire GP offer is our fastest growing service. As soon as we open up new slots for face-to-face appointments, they’re typically 25 minutes because there’s a strong desire to sit down and build a relationship with the GP.

According to Spire Healthcare latest figures, demand for its private GP services was up 69% in 6 months to June 2022, compared to the same period in the previous year.

He also told the podcast that he expected similar growth in the use of private diagnostic services: “The demand for diagnosis is growing equally fast. Pathology, X-rays, MRI, etc. We’re going to open Spire clinics, which are a combination of diagnostic centres, GP/community type services and non-general anaesthetic treatment so that we can take a bit of pressure off our hospitals because they’re very busy.

“We can provide treatment in the community, and we can provide increased access to that entry point into healthcare because it’s actually the entry point that people seem to be having the most difficulty with.”

Mr Ash described the last few years as a “defining period” for the independent sector, which had changed people’s attitudes on the service they provide.

He said: “We played such a vital role in providing NHS services. And I think it’s absolutely true that millions of people got treatment who would not have done otherwise. And that was a fantastic partnership with the NHS.

Mr Ash also told of his concerns at a ‘workforce crisis’ in the UK currently and how the organisation had been turning to apprenticeships to solve the challenge:

“There is a workforce crisis in the UK. There’s a workforce crisis globally. You can read about this in any developed nation. So, we have to be hugely alert to this, not just as providers, but as society because everything that we do, including tackling climate change, going to work, enjoying time with our families, is presaged on the fact that we have good health. Ultimately that good health is provided by the workforce, which is why I’m so passionate on the topic and why we’re putting so much effort into thinking and acting on this.

“Apprenticeships have been transformational for Spire. We started relatively small. We’ve now got a workforce of 14,000, of which 500 and growing are apprenticeships in all sorts of areas. Of those, 200 are registered nurses. I think we’ve got the largest apprenticeship program for registered nurses.
“The bottom line is we have to grow our own. We have to develop more people in healthcare generally, not just in nursing, but in all the allied professions and supporting roles. What’s wonderful about apprenticeships is, and they’re not all young people, but people from all sorts of backgrounds.

“A lot of them have worked in food service or restaurants or, they’ve worked as security guards, and they’ve come into healthcare. They’ve typically come in to do a job like housekeeping and then they’ve been inspired to take an apprenticeship and maybe become a nurse.”

Hosted by healthcare expert Suhail Mirza, this episode of the Voices of Care podcast is available now alongside previous episodes in the series on various platforms including You Tube, Apple, Spotify and the Newcross Healthcare website.

News

Power quality specialist adds to Shrewsbury’s legacy of evolution

Power quality specialist REO has announced the opening of its new office in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, which will allow it to support the business’ continued evolution in the industrial electrical components market. The new office is sited in Darwin House, Shrewsbury, where the world-renowned scientist Charles Darwin was born on February 12, 1809. To mark this anniversary and celebrate its latest expansion, REO will take part in the 20th annual Darwin Toast and Tour festival, taking place on February 12, 2023, at The Morris Hall Courtyard, Shrewsbury.

The move to the new office in Shrewsbury has allowed REO to convert its existing office space in Craven Arms into additional warehousing, meaning it can keep up with the increased orders it has received over the last year. Demand for high-quality electrical components for industrial applications is set to continue to grow again this year as more industries follow the trend of increased electrification.

“REO will celebrate its centenary in 2025 and evolution through technologies and industries has been at the forefront of our survival and subsequent success and expansion,” explained Steve Hughes, managing director of REO UK. “Combining the celebrations for our new office opening with the festivities for Charles Darwin’s birthday is poignant as this is the latest step in REO’s evolution, so it is only natural to celebrate the father of the theory of evolution at the same time.”

For more information about how REO is continuing to evolve to meet the needs of the electrical components industry,  visit https://www.reo.co.uk/

News

Cloud-based call centre platform, TCN, launches new EU head office as part of global expansion

TCN, Inc., a global provider of a comprehensive cloud-based call centre platform for enterprises, contact centres, BPOs and collection agencies, has officially launched its new EU head office.

The office in Bucharest, Romania was opened on February 1, 2023 with specially invited guests including current clients, representatives of local businesses including Raiffeisen Bank, Generali Insurance, Alpha Bank and OTP Bank and senior TCN executives from the US, EU and UK teams.

Guests heard keynote presentations about TCN and its plans for the future and award-winning products, such as the TCN Operator platform, from Kerry Sherman, executive vice president of business development, Darrin Bird, executive vice president and chief operating officer, Victor Marco, business manager Europe, Adrian Stefan, director of sales and Spencer Taylor, head of UK & Eire operations.

A team of around 10 TCN staff will be based at the EU office, including developers, technical support and operations executives. TCN also plans to expand the office to support the region further.

The team will provide technical support to EU clients and second-tier technical support for UK clients, offering longer support times to clients.

“TCN is based in the US but is rapidly expanding globally,” said Darrin Bird. “We now have a large remit in both Europe and the UK, and it was essential that we open an EU head office to provide greater support to those clients. The EU team will also be working on advancing our products technically. I was delighted to be a part of the day and to talk with so many current and future clients,” he added.

“TCN is already helping to increase overall company call volume and productivity of our clients, while reducing call waiting times, but our software has even greater capabilities and we are excited to be able to advance work on that while having a dedicated home for our support teams here in Europe,” said Victor Marcu.

“The standard of our technical support is just one of their many USPs. It’s an exciting time for the company,” he concluded.

For more information about TCN, visit www.tcn.com

News

Serviceform, the hugely successful lead generation platform, launches in the UK

Serviceform, the lead generation platform, is landing in the UK to add value to the UK property market, by enabling estate agents to optimise their website technology to drive sales.

Founded in 2018 by CEO Iranthi Gomes and CTO Jarkko Oksanen (wife and husband team), Serviceform now has clients in over 50 countries, more than 60 employees and offices in Finland, Sweden, Spain, Sri Lanka and now London, UK.

In each country, Serviceform’s innovative technology has been quick to attract customers and gain market share. It is now, for example, the most trusted lead generation platform in the Finnish real estate market. “We take away the fear of technology,” explains Iranthi Gomes. “In the UK we are looking for those innovators, companies that want to be data-driven and understand the need to embrace new technology.”

UK property market lagging behind Europe and North America for use of technology

Serviceform’s initial assessment was that the UK was the correct market to target next and this was reinforced when Iranthi and Jarkko started house hunting in the UK. Iranthi looked at more than 1000 estate agencies and realised that Serviceform’s lead generation toolkit could immediately improve the home buying and home rental process here in the UK.

“It’s fascinating to see what the UK market is up to – or more accurately not up to. Almost none of the well-known names are using live chat on their websites. Those that are, are unnecessarily wasting a lot of time and money on live chat agents. Most estate agencies did not have a chatbot either. By not using any tool to engage your web visitors, estate agencies are missing out on masses of potential revenue – and better customer service and engagement.”

In Serviceform’s view, this lack of chat function creates two major issues. “One is that you are effectively asking web visitors to manually find their way to the property that might interest them. But that could mean navigating and scrolling through loads of pages until they find something that matches their criteria. With a chatbot, a web visitor can simply input their criteria such as area, budget and type of property and the chatbot can easily take them to a page with all the properties that match their specifications, saving them hours of time. It can also send vital information about visitors directly to the agents, while being completely GDPR compliant. This function differentiates the platform from property listings search filters because the agents get to know details such as whether the visitor has a property to sell, for example.”

“The second major issue is that without a chatbot, estate agents are missing out on an extremely easy way to qualify leads. Some visitors may not be looking to buy immediately, so following up on these leads would waste valuable time. With a chatbot, you can easily ask those qualifying questions such as the prospect’s budget and when they’re looking to buy to help companies prioritise which leads to focus on first.”

On top of the chat-bot functionality, Serviceform also offers estate agents a tool called ‘Ourly’, a calendar scheduling tool synced to their Google or Outlook, which allows customers to schedule in meetings or viewings directly. This removes a lot of the time-consuming admin involved in the sales process. Plus, all Serviceform clients get their own Account Manager and Customer Success Manager who advise, onboard, set up all the tools, optimise and help them whenever needed at no extra cost, making the implementation and usage of the platform extremely easy and stress-free.

Serviceform success stories – testing, personalisation and understanding traffic conversion to get the best results

Successful customers, explains Serviceform, are those who recognise that live chat is a technology that’s older than a decade. Technology is moving forward and so should the property industry. With Serviceform’s dynamic property chatbot, when a visitor lands on a property page, they’ll be greeted by the individual listing agent for that specific property. Agencies can personalise each property page and provide accurate information without requiring 1000s of different chatbots for each listing. Serviceform’s tool suite is then capable of routing every lead generated to the appropriate agent, making the process much faster and efficient.

US brokerage firm First Team, with over 2,000 agents, is one of the biggest real estate players in the United States and has been successfully working with Serviceform for over three years, generating better quality leads and saving money.

“We were able to do a bunch of unique things that weren’t done at the time,” Steven McCloskey, Chief Product Officer at First Team real estate, explains. “We were able to connect our real estate agents with the users on the website. The sky was the limit for how we could use and adapt the tool. One thing I love about Serviceform is it’s not just set and forget it. It’s something we can constantly improve and change. They also have a lot of personalization options and to me, personalization is very important when it comes to both sales and marketing.”

Serviceform will be exhibiting at the property technology expo and conference, PropTech on 15 – 16 February, at the Business Design Centre in London.

For more information on Serviceform, visit: www.serviceform.com.

News

McKinsey CFO Pulse Survey: Financial Leaders Priorities Have Shifted

McKinsey, one of the world’s leading management consultancy firms, has recently published a survey highlighting how Chief Financial Officers’ (CFOs) priorities have changed in the past year. Titled Into the storm: CFOs pivot to managing financial headwinds*, the study reveals that CFOs have been shifting their priorities amidst global economic uncertainty, and doing so in an interesting way.

The survey revealed that the priorities for CFOs and other financial leaders have changed significantly over time. In previous years the key areas of focus were Performance Management (55 per cent of respondents) and Strategic Leadership (51 per cent) however both of these priorities have reduced to about 30 per cent in the past year. In response, there has been a big shift with the subject of Pricing now assuming the top slot. In previous years this area hardly registered at all, being a priority for less than 10 per cent of respondents. However, in 2022 this increased dramatically and has become the most important area, with over 40 per cent of CFOs spending time on pricing company’s products and services in 2022.

Commenting on the findings from the survey, Andy Campbell, global solution evangelist at FinancialForce, who has been able to add a bit more colour to this based on his experiences working with many services businesses, noted:

“There are two major takeaways from this survey. Firstly, the fact that financial leaders are now actively involved in pricing is fascinating. Historically, this is an activity where CFOs had little interest, however finance leaders spent more time on the pricing of products and services during the last 12 months than any other activity. The reason behind this transition is probably explained by the difficult economic environment that we are currently experiencing and the need for most companies to ‘pivot to profitability’. Winning new business and increasing revenues is obviously beneficial, but it is critical that the won business is actually profitable. It is vital that the amount that you charge accurately reflects the cost of both successfully winning and then delivering / servicing this work. Only then can you ensure that your profitability and margin targets can be achieved.

“For example, if a services business is producing an estimate for a client they obviously need to ensure that the scope of work is correct and the proposal is offered at a competitive price point. However, it is important that the correct resource is used to deliver the project, and at the right billable rate otherwise target margins may be missed. Similarly the impact of offering discounts needs to be correctly calculated, and the cost of expenses accurately applied. And it goes without saying that once the contract has been won and a contract is being serviced, then the real cost to serve the customer is being taken into consideration to ensure that margins do not erode. Leading service companies will evaluate the actual lifetime value realised from a customer and take this into account when deciding whether to bid for new work. They will use this to revise pricing strategies to ensure that margins targets are achieved, or to qualify out from the opportunity. In a tight economic climate it is understandable that CFOs want to have good visibility into the impact of pricing.

“Secondly, this change in emphasis has seen a move away from performance management and strategic leadership, which are no longer the biggest areas of focus for financial leaders. There has been a ‘pivot to profit’, with CFOs increasingly thinking about the short-term, as they are looking at the immediate requirements in terms of cash. Less time is being spent on longer term activities such as strategic leadership and value, and more on tactical initiatives, such as ensuring good cashflow forecasting. To achieve this, businesses need to balance revenue forecasts from multiple diverse revenue streams (including managed services and subscription), to accurately predict income, and have good visibility and tight control over costs. Financial leaders need to implement seamless processes which will reduce revenue leakage and provide a common source of data for the business.”

You can find the results from McKinsey’s CFO Pulse survey here: https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/into-the-storm-cfos-pivot-to-managing-financial-headwinds#/

Media contact
Tom Roden/Daniel Levy
Finn Partners for FinancialForce
+44 20 7046 8354
FinancialForceUK@finnpartners.com

Awards, News

Bromwich Hardy bag more accolades

A leading independent commercial property agency has again topped the leaderboard for agency deals.

Coventry-based Bromwich Hardy was ranked as the top agency in Warwickshire in the EG rankings for the final quarter of 2022. The firm was also ranked joint second in Worcestershire.

The Coventry-based firm recorded 16 lettings and occupational sales in Warwickshire over the final quarter of last year, more than twice as many as its nearest rival in the county.

Founding partner Tom Bromwich said: “We know we had a really good year in 2022, despite difficult trading conditions across the country, but it’s always good to have that success verified by independent data.

“I’m delighted that we have again been acknowledged as the leading commercial property agency in Warwickshire, and I look forward to us working to maintain our position in 2023.

“Our success is down to our incredible team and I would like to thank them for all their continued hard work.”
The EG tables cover all occupier sales and lettings but exclude lease renewals and deals under NDAs at the time of publishing. They are based on transactional data shared by members of the EG Radius community.

Animals, News, Pets

Agria Pet Insurance Spearheads Animal Welfare Proposition for 2023

Following a year that saw the world’s oldest pet insurer launch the UK’s only lifetime insurance for horses, Agria Pet Insurance has announced its focus on animal welfare for 2023 and beyond. With the cost of living crisis continuing to put pressure on pet owners, Agria’s focus will be to educate animal owners so that they can maintain protecting and prioritising their pet’s welfare.

Based upon the five needs of the Animal Welfare Act: Behaviour, Diet, Health, Environment and Companionship will be at the heart of all Agria does. Each of these five needs ensures that an animal is cared for both physically and mentally. While the Act is there to protect animals from harm and mistreatment, Agria is also seeking to investigate what typical animal owners can do to make their animals lives as good as they can possibly be.

Providing pets with healthcare since 1890, the foundation of Agria’s ethos is to allow animals to thrive, whilst providing peace of mind for their owners. This is a passion shared with customers as well as the many partners, vets, breeders and rehoming organisations Agria works closely with – ultimately its whole community. Supporting the insurer in promoting the importance of animal welfare is long-standing partner, Lord Trees.

Lord Trees, Professor of Veterinary Parasitology and crossbench member of the House of Lords, said: “Animal welfare is crucial to me, as a crossbench peer and former vet. The Animal Welfare Act of 2006, which I was involved in, updated all previous legislation and provides clear guidance on animal care through the five welfare needs: Behaviour, Diet, Health, Environment, and Companionship. These needs ensure the mental and physical wellbeing of animals by allowing them to express their natural behaviours; have a suitable diet; live in an environment with companionship and shelter. I fully support Agria’s 2023 campaign to raise awareness about the importance of fulfilling our duty to care for animals.”

Another supporter of the insurer in advancing the significance of animal welfare is partner, Marisa Heath.

Marisa Heath from the All Party Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare, said: “The 2006 Animal Welfare Act redefined animal welfare by recognising the physical and mental needs of animals. The five freedoms are a crucial starting point for understanding pet needs beyond basic care. To achieve the highest standards of animal welfare, it’s important to consider what normal behaviour is for our pet, what causes fear or distress, and what they enjoy doing. I’m delighted Agria Pet Insurance prioritises animal welfare by working with owners to deliver the five freedoms and more for their pets.”
Vicki Wentworth, Managing Director at Agria Pet Insurance, said: “In 2022, Agria proudly became carbon positive and now diligently focuses on protecting pet welfare. Animal companions enrich our lives and Agria aims to return that generosity by giving them the best possible life. We have supported animal welfare through funding research and supporting rescues for many years. Now, in 2023, Agria plans to explore more ways to illuminate pet welfare through specialist interviews, research and case studies, helping owners to treat animals well and in a way that fully enriches their lives.”

To learn more about Agria’s commitment to animal welfare, please visit https://www.agriapet.co.uk/welfare-hub-pet/

News

Check Point Software Releases its 2023 Security Report Highlighting Rise in Cyberattacks and Disruptive Malware

Geo-political conflict triggers increase in cyberattacks and the rise of ‘disruption and destruction’ malware

Check Point Research (CPR), the Threat Intelligence arm of Check Point® Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP), a leading provider of cybersecurity solutions globally, has published its 2023 Security Report reflecting on a chaotic year in cybersecurity. The report looks back on a tumultuous 2022, which saw cyberattacks reach an all-time high in response to the Russo-Ukrainian war. Education and Research remains the most targeted sector, but attacks on the healthcare sector registered a 74% increase year-on-year.

According to the report, cyberattacks have risen by 38% in 2022 compared to the previous year, with an average of 1,168 weekly attacks per organization being recorded. The report also highlights the role played by smaller and more agile hackers and ransomware groups in exploiting legitimate collaboration tools used in the hybrid workplace. From the rise of new ransomware variants to the spread of hacktivism in conflict areas in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, the 2023 Security Report uncovers the trends and behaviors that defined the year.

Key findings from the 2023 Security Report include:

• Hacktivism – The boundaries between state-sponsored cyber operations and hacktivism have become increasingly blurred, as nation-states act with anonymity and impunity. Non-state affiliated hacktivist groups have become more organized and effective than ever before.
Ransomware Extortion -ransomware operations are becoming more challenging to attribute and track, and existing protection mechanisms that are based on detecting encryption activity may become less effective. The focus will instead be on data wiping and exfiltration detection.
• Cloud: Third Party Threat – The number of attacks on cloud-based networks per organization has skyrocketed, with a 48% rise in 2022 compared to 2021. The shift in threat actors´ preference to scan the IP range of cloud providers highlights their interest in gaining easy access to sensitive information and critical services.

The report also offers insights specifically for CISOs, aimed at drawing attention to critical security actions for the coming year. These insights include reducing complexity to bridge the cyber-skills gap, limiting the cost of cloud misconfigurations, and increasing the use of automation and AI to detect network risks that may go unnoticed by the human eye.

“There is no doubt we will see an increase in the volume of attacks over the next twelve months. Cloud migration has created a wider attack surface for cybercriminals, and the legitimate tools we all use will be further manipulated by cybercriminals. This has already been demonstrated in the case of ChatGPT, with Russian cybercriminals trying to bypass OpenAI’s API restrictions and gain access to the chatbot for malicious reasons” said Maya Horowitz, VP Research at Check Point Software. “Add to this the widening cyber skills-gap and the increasing complexity of distributed networks, and we have the perfect storm for cybercriminals.”

Ms. Horowitz adds, “To mitigate the risk of cybercrime, CISOs can begin by reading our 2023 Security Report and ensuring continued cybersecurity education for employees. Raising awareness of current threats and emerging tactics used by threat actors can help safeguard organizations from malicious threats in the future.”

The Security Report´s findings are based on data drawn from the Check Point ThreatCloud Cyber-Threat Map, which looks at the key tactics’ cybercriminals are using to carry out their attacks. A full copy of the report is available here on the interactive site.

Fintech, News

Fintech startup Alloy launches in the UK

US fintech Alloy has launched in the UK, strengthening its presence in EMEA with key senior hires and office space in London.

Alloy’s Identity Decisioning Platform helps banks and fintech companies to make smarter and faster decisions about the risk profile of each customer, and keep them safe from financial crime. The platform connects to more than 170 data sources, enabling financial institutions to automate customer approval and account opening, and monitor transactions in real time. Over 350 companies around the world trust Alloy to help them simplify processes and respond rapidly to new risks.

Fraud is a more serious threat than ever before: 91% of financial institutions said that fraud has increased year-on-year, and 71% increased their spending on fraud prevention, according to recent Alloy data. In the UK alone, bank fraud cost consumers almost £610M in the first half of 2022.

With Alloy, clients see an average 48% reduction in fraud. UK fintechs now have access to the company’s full product range, enabling them to stay ahead of regulatory requirements and scale their operations with ease.

Alloy’s former COO Edwina Johnson has relocated to London to head up global expansion, while James Baston-Pitt, former Vice President at Onfido, will spearhead commercial initiatives as the EMEA Director of Growth. The UK team is currently hiring for roles across sales and partnerships, and will continue to build out its go-to-market and client services functions throughout the year.

Since Alloy was founded in 2015, the firm has helped more than 350 of North America’s most innovative banks and fintech startups prevent fraud and financial crime, including Carta, Ramp and Brex. Alloy has raised over $210M to date, reaching a $1.55BN valuation, and last year announced its expansion into 40 new countries. The company has doubled down on its commitment to EMEA by establishing a physical presence in London, its first local site outside the US.

Edwina Johnson, Head of Global at Alloy said: “For financial institutions to remain competitive in today’s market, cross-border functionality is no longer a major advantage – it’s a must. Fintech startups are now building with a global mindset from day one, and looking for technology partners who can scale with them, adapting to their changing business needs, appetite for risk, and compliance requirements.

“The UK is one of the world’s most powerful fintech hubs, and we can’t wait to help innovative local firms unlock their potential abroad. For too long, international expansion has involved trade-offs with risk management, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Alloy provides dynamic support for companies operating across multiple regulatory environments, so they can focus on growing their business without worrying about the threat of fraud.”

To learn more, visit Alloy.com.

News

Just Equine Expands Revolutionary Flex On Stirrup Range for Enhanced Riding Experience

ust Equine, a leading provider of equestrian equipment and accessories, is excited to announce the expansion of their Flex On Stirrup range. The new line includes a variety of styles and sizes to accommodate riders of all levels and disciplines.

The Flex On Stirrup is a revolutionary stirrup design that allows for maximum flexibility and comfort for the rider. The unique design allows for a more natural movement of the ankle and foot, reducing the risk of injury and fatigue. The stirrups also feature a quick release mechanism for added safety.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer even more options to our customers with the expansion of the Flex On Stirrup range,” said Justin Rushton, founder and CEO of Just Equine. “We are constantly striving to improve the riding experience for our customers and we believe these stirrups will do just that.”

The new Flex On Stirrup line is available now on the Just Equine website and through select retailers.

https://www.justequine.co.uk/brands/flex-on/

About Just Equine

Just Equine is a leading provider of equestrian equipment and accessories. The company is dedicated to improving the riding experience for riders of all levels and disciplines.