ECI Partners Invests in compliance company Citation plc

ECI Partners LLP, the UK growth focused mid-market private equity firm, is taking a majority stake in Citation plc ("Citation"), in a deal that values the company at £50million, in order to support Citation in realising its plans for growth. 

 

With over 200 employees, Citation provides professional advice and compliance packages to 7,500 business clients across the UK, via its team of regionally located, employed consultants. The company’s market- leading services provide guaranteed protection in the high risk areas of employment law and health & safety regulations.

 

Citation clients are 12x less likely to face an employment tribunal, 47 times less likely to receive a Health & Safety notice and 8 times less likely to have a reportable accident at work compared to other SMEs.

 

Citation offers an excellent service to its clients with long term future contracts by professional service sector standards. Since 2006, sales have risen more than 50 percent to £15.4 million for the year ending 31 December 2011. The company was  winner of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise (Innovation) 2006, and has also been recognised as "market leader" by Orange UK in the National Business Awards.

 

Andrew Vaughan (current Chairman of Premier Care another ECI investment), will join the board as Chairman to work with ECI Partners to expand Citation. Former appointments for Mr Vaughan include Enviros Group, WCI Group and ClarityBlue. Prior to these roles he was Chief Executive of Workplace Technologies which he led through MBO, flotation, and finally sale.

 

Citation Financial Director Julie Moran, said:

 

"This is an exciting time for Citation, our clients and our employees. ECI Partners have a strong track record of backing growth companies and we welcome their investment."

 

"Citation has grown its business significantly in recent years, thanks to the hard work of our employees and the support of our clients. We want to build on that success and today’s announcement will support a major growth strategy for the future."

 

Richard Chapman, Head of Business Services at ECI Partners, added:

 

"Citation has a proven management team in place and we look forward to working with them to support the company’s future growth strategy.

 

"We recognise there is a growing requirement for SMEs to demonstrate their compliance in Personnel & Employment Law and Health & Safety. Our investment will help to accelerate the growth of the core Personnel & Employment Law and Health & Safety divisions."

Santa Brings More When Mum and Dad Compare Prices Online says PriceFile

Online price comparison service, PriceFile, says families can purchase toys and games for less by finding the right price on the web.

PriceFile, the UK based price comparison website, says that parents can save money by finding best priced toys and games online.

 

Once children have drawn up their Christmas wish list, it’s time for parents to do Santa’s job on his behalf. That used to mean hiking up and down the high street to find the most popular toys and games of the day; not to mention paying over the odds for the privilege.

 

But with the rise of online shopping, comes a better way to find the best priced gaming and gadgets; the online price comparison service.

PriceFile quickly and easily searches a wide range of popular and online stores and provides customers with a breakdown of the best prices for each of their chosen items.

 

It is a fundamentally better way to tick off this year’s Christmas list and one proven to save hard earned cash at this costly time of year. This could allow Santa Claus to bring even more.

 

Users can quickly find all of the year’s most popular consoles and games, including the all new Nintendo Wii U and the ever popular Nintendo 3DS, PS Vita, Playstation 3 and X-Box 360. Crucially, the PriceFile comparison engine doesn’t just find the items; it finds a range of the best prices available.

From toys and family games to educational books and learning activities, PriceFile allows the user to search a wide variety of online stores, simultaneously, providing a fast and effective online shopping solution.

 

Using an online price comparison service could not be simpler. It allows you to search a variety of stores and discover a range of prices from the comfort of your own home. From toys and games to all of the year’s most popular phones, tablets and electronics, online shoppers can find the best price for all of their gift ideas with a minimum of fuss.

 

David Ball from PriceFile said: “People can save time and money by shopping online this Christmas and comparing the prices of a wide array of store at once.

 

“PriceFile aims to make the Christmas shopping process and quick and easy as possible. Many customers come back again and again for one simple reason: they love to save money. All of the best toys, technology and gaming are available; and available at the best price.”

 

Visit the official PriceFile comparison site today and save money for the same great gadgets that can be found on the high street.

 

JMC IT Wins Major Contract for Dynamics Customer Relationship Management

JMC IT has announced a significant new contract with software solutions firm Cheshire Datasystems Ltd (CDL), to provide a large scale Customer Relationship Management (CRM) deployment.

In the initial stages of this brand new agreement, JMC IT Support Manchester will introduce the Microsoft Dynamics CRM system to each of CDL’s multi disciplined teams. Like JMC IT, Cheshire Datasystems Limited is already a Microsoft Gold Partner.

Andrew Burgess, managing director of JMC, says: “It’s particularly apt that this major CRM deployment is for such a highly-respected business within the IT industry. This partnership strengthens our standing as an expert in the technology field and we are extremely excited to be working on such an important project together”. Microsoft Dynamics CRM is a customer relationship management software package for use within sales, marketing and service sectors, can be employed as an XRM platform and customised to meet a variety of client demands. This server-client application is primarily an IIS-based web application which supports a host of web services interfaces. From the beginning it was the first choice of CDL in streamlining their information management processes; but they would require an experienced IT partner to facilitate the process.

Mr Burgess continues: “CDL approached us with the Dynamics CRM in mind, hopeful that a tailored version of the software could strengthen its information management, and we were confident in our own - as well as the software’s - capability to fulfil this need”.

By tailoring Dynamics CRM to meet the specific requirement of Cheshire Datasystems Ltd, JMC will engineer a product suitable to replace CDL’s existing information management system. This bespoke CRM service will monitor contact with current and potential CDL customers and much more.

One of the most important benefits of the implementation of Dynamics CRM will be the improved continuity of information within the business. This is crucial to a business offering multiple disciplines and will enable the CDL team to maximise sales and boost opportunity management. Most importantly, it will allow them to maintain the impressive customer service standards with which they handle existing clients.

Gary Johnson at CDL says: “We have worked with JMC for a number of years and we have an excellent relationship with the team. Our successful growth, especially in the last two years has driven us to overhaul our approach to managing client information and JMC have advised us on the best ways forward. We were looking for a platform to help us strengthen customer loyalty and maximise revenue streams and we are confident that JMC and Dynamics CRM will be the ideal solution.”

 

Latest Bowers & Wilkins Speakers and Headphones Impress at Gadget Show Live 2012

The Gadget Show Live 2012 took place between 11 and 15 April, with a sell out crowd heading to Birmingham’s NEC arena to check out the very latest home entertainment, and state of the art gadgetry.

As the UK’s leading consumer technology event, the premier brands from every industry were represented including legendary British speaker company Bowers & Wilkins, who invited the crowds to experience their very latest sound tech first hand.

Thousands of people were on hand to discover the clear, layered sound of the Zeppelin Air iPod speakers, Nautilus speakers and P5 headphones; and the responses to each were overwhelmingly positive.

The custom built Bowers & Wilkins stand featured two of the brands iconic Nautilus speakers. Now recognised as a design classic, this flagship B&W speakers are currently at the forefront of sound technology. Designed with true audiophiles in mind, the Nautilus speakers feature tapering, tubular enclosures to eliminate internal resonance, and were a hit with Gadget Show visitors; illustrating just why other sound tech brands aspire to emulate them.

Beyond that visitors were treated to a wall of Zeppelin Air iPod speakers, and were able to experience the benefits of Apple’s AirPlay wireless streaming technology, which allows you to stream music from your iTunes or handheld devices such as iPods, iPhones and iPads. But the display also proved that with Zeppelin Air, you also get the best sounding iPod dock ever made, complete with new drive units, upgraded amplification and advanced Digital Signal Processing.

Finally the Bowers & Wilkins P5 headphones were displayed on a beautiful tree crafted from visible layers of ply wood to mimic the construction of the B&W 800 Series Diamond Cabinets. Built from the finest materials, using the very latest in advanced technology, the P5 noise-isolating mobile hi-fi headphones reproduce pure, rich and incredibly detailed sound, which isn’t disturbed by extraneous noise. They’re compatible with any device’s headphone output, including the most recent Apple devices and they’re so good at isolating the listener that they received rave reviews from techies; despite the fact that they had all of the noises of the Gadget Show Live playing out all around them.

It was a tremendously effective, and undoubtedly successful, display but these are just some of the items currently available from Bowers & Wilkins. To find out more about the entire B&W range and their various stockists around the country, visit their official site today.

 

Great 2012 Offers on UK Holidays from Alfa Travel

Alfa Travel, the leading UK and European coach holiday provider, has teamed up with Great 2012 Offers to provide the British Public with a fantastic offer on UK holidays.

Book a UK holiday through Alfa Travel before 1 June 2012, quoting promotional code O12, and enjoy a discount of £20.12.

British breaks with Alfa Travel are renowned for their quality and value for money, and right now at the user friendly Alfa Travel website, you’ll find a fantastic array of holiday destinations and inclusive itineraries, with trips all over the UK, featuring the greatest landmarks and tourist destinations, along with more than 20 quality hotels from sister company Leisureplex.

The outstanding fleet of modern luxury coaches available ensure that wherever you’re travelling around the British Isles, you’ll do so in comfort and enjoy your journeys as much as your arrivals.

Now, thanks to this fantastic special offer, you can enjoy even better value for a Great British holiday.

This offer is valid on all new bookings with departures up to and including 10 December 2012. The offer is not available with any other offer or discount. For more information about the offer, along with full terms and conditions, visit our official website.

The national tourist boards have joined forces with businesses from all over the UK to provide an array of spectacular special offers, allowing you to make the most of the Great British Isles. This allows you to concentrate less on the cost of your trip to England, Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales and more on enjoying the celebrations and cultural event, unique to this extra special calendar year.

 

The Best Cheap Holidays to Turkey

Turkey is home to beaches and bazaars, clubs and coves, mosques and mountains, castles and casinos. It is one of the most wonderfully eclectic holiday destinations in the world; which has helped to make cheap holidays to Turkey amongst the most popular available.

Turkey is touched by the ocean on three sides and offers a variety of fantastic holiday resorts across its length and breadth. Here, you’ll find a selection of helpful info bites of each of the hot spots for the best cheap holidays to Turkey. You’re sure to discover an exciting and exotic holiday destination that right for you and your friends or family.

Ankara – Turkey’s capital city is a booming, big city with a small town feel. Ankara is a busy, beautiful and interesting city, full of lively shops, restaurants, museums and a serious coffee culture.

Bodrum – A cosmopolitan resort full of waterfront cafes, exclusive shops, harbour view restaurants and wild, world famous nightlife. It is amongst the most popular destinations for cheap holidays to Turkey.

Gumbet – A shingled, sandy beach resort with an interesting mix of attractions from ancient monuments to waterparks. There is a little something for everyone in Gumbet. With shops, bars and restaurants, it’s great for a family holiday.

Antalya – Palm tree lined streets, designer shops, fantastic restaurants and a stylish, glamorous marina. Antalya is one of the most idyllic destinations for cheap holidays to Turkey and is amongst the most popular.

Istanbul – A unique city divided into two by the Bosphorus River. Half is European and half is Asian, and this metropolitan mix of cultures ensures that a trip to Istanbul will be anything but an ordinary holiday destination.

Marmaris – One of the most popular resorts for cheap holidays to Turkey; boasting perfect, golden beaches, turquoise ocean, restaurants, cafes and a beautiful promenade and marina. Marmaris offers some of the best nightlife in Turkey, but also offers a bustling Turkish bazaar for a tantalising glimpse at the Turkey of old.

These are just a small selection of the sights and sounds of Turkey and there are even more amazing holiday resorts to be found, and even more holidays to Turkey to be enjoyed. Browse our entire selection of cheap Turkey holiday destinations and find the perfect holiday for you.

 

Survey shows SMEs want more government help

Small firms want banks and the government to do more to support them during 2012, according to a new survey reporting in the Manchester Evening News.

Employment law specialist Citation, based in Wilmslow, surveyed its 6,500 customers to uncover what SMEs thought would be their biggest challenges of next year.

While 80 per cent of respondents said they were optimistic about opportunities in the next 12 months, 79 per cent said the government could do more to help.

Citation chief executive Lindsay Hill said: “It is not all doom and gloom going into 2012 and it was encouraging to see many of those surveyed feeling optimistic about opportunities in 2012.

“Government funding initiatives for SMEs are due to come in during the year, which should help some grow their business.

“Moreover, those SMEs which have adjusted through tough times and survived with leaner budgets will only be stronger going in to 2012.”

The lack of support from banks was another key issue raised by respondents, including a lack of willingness to lend or extend loan repayment periods and overdraft facilities.

Mr Hill said: “The banks quite simply need to understand SME businesses better and employ advisers who can adopt a common sense approach to lending, rather than a one-size-fits-all set of rules.”

The Citation survey comes after a report by insurance giant RSA found 12 per cent of SMEs had experienced difficulties securing finance in the last year, rising to 15 per cent in the manufacturing sector.

Firms said they were increasingly looking to equity investors to fill the void left by traditional lenders.