Curtly Richards - page 29

GFSB Supporting Local Businesses

The Gibraltar Federation of Small Businesses (GFSB) exists to help small businesses in Gibraltar to start, grow and thrive. Now in the run up to Christmas, one of their missions is to help their members by encouraging people to shop locally. 

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the message for every local town or city was to shop local, but it’s no secret that nearly every aspect of life has been upended because of coronavirus, and nowhere is that more apparent than in the retail sector. Think of the Lion King’s ‘Circle of Life’ and apply that analogy to businesses that are struggling and the knock-on effect for the local economy. If we spend our money locally this helps the local economy and, in turn, it generates taxes which pay for public services such as our health care and schools. 

Small businesses are facing huge pressures since the pandemic began and it is hoped that none have to close. They are adapting fast to secure livelihoods but they need help to ensure that they can maintain their staff and enable them to be able to pay mortgages and put food on the table. 

Consider that when you purchase goods elsewhere, either over the border in Spain or online, they may seem a couple of pounds cheaper or maybe even a little more expensive, but the GFSB has carried out some price comparisons and there are many items which are worth buying in Gibraltar, not forgetting that it is often better for the environment to shop locally and it also cuts down on your carbon footprint.  

The BEAT Covid assistance measures implemented by the Gibraltar Government aimed at protecting jobs and retaining employment have gone some way to helping and the GFSB has been proactive in assisting their members to understand how the BEAT measures work in practice. However, the tourism industry has been heavily affected by the pandemic, particularly the shops and restaurants in the town area and around Main Street. 

Although the GFSB’s responsibility is to the business community, they support the Government’s Green Gibraltar initiative, whilst at the same time maintaining the interests of their members. The introduction of charges for parking at Midtown Car Park that was previously free for all Gibraltar ID card holders was an example in case, but thanks to consultation with the GFSB and the Chamber,  the Government have waived parking fees for three hours. Now residents can come into town, have a coffee, maybe a meal and do some shopping. The message from the GFSB is that there are many different ways to shop locally, including walking or via bus, cycling or car. In fact, there are many towns and cities around the world where paying to park is the norm, and tourists coming into Gibraltar are often used to paying for parking, so locals are encouraged to take advantage of the introduction of the three hour free parking scheme.  

The Keep it Local Campaign, a joint effort between the GFSB, the Gibraltar Chamber of Commerce and the Gibraltar Government, has been in place for a few months already, but now the focus will be on Christmas with several ideas about how to help and incentivise people to stay local, including a discount scheme or gift vouchers that can be reclaimed at one of a number of stores.   

Christmas is usually a very important shopping time in Gibraltar and there is always a buzz along and around the Main Street area with people popping out to their local shops or restaurants, bumping into friends and stopping to chat. This year, although things may be a bit different, the Main Street Business Improvement District (BID) commissioned by the GFSB, once voted in will hopefully improve the identity of the town. The BID will look to develop a ‘uniquely Gibraltarian experience’, ensuring we provide a clean, green and welcoming area for tourists and locals alike. Unfortunately, due to the Covid-19 situation, progress was interrupted but going forward it is an exciting way to help businesses take control of and improve their trading environment. This is something that will help the business community really focus its efforts and make the whole shopping experience that much better for both tourists and locals, hopefully attracting more tourists to come back in the New Year. 

These are extraordinary times but with your everyday choices you can support our home. Choose Gibraltar first and as it says on the Keep it Local website; ‘Spend your money where your heart is’.

www.keepitlocal.gi www.gfsb.gi

Locally-based self-made multimillionaire, Ruth Parasol, has helped to spearhead a brand new bank in the UK, called Recognise. The investment will be channelled through RG Advisors. It joins the two other cornerstone investors, DV4 and Max Barney.

Ms Parasol has a number of investments spread across the world, including a significant portfolio focused on London, the United States and Israel – plus a number of further boutique investments in various jurisdictions. Ms Parasol, 53, is worth about £780 million, according to The Sunday Times Rich List.

Recognise will be led by Jason Oakley, former managing director of commercial banking and mortgages at Metro Bank, with Philip Jenks, a former HBoS banker, as chairman, and Bryce Glover, former commercial director at Nationwide building society, as deputy chief executive.

Recognise has been created with the purpose of providing working capital in the form of commercial loans, plus tailored commercial property lending. The bank will be initially based in Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham and London in the form of regional hubs. Target lending customers will, of course, be businesses – sole traders, partnerships and limited companies – with a viable business plan, who have been trading profitably for at least two years, and are run by experienced owners and entrepreneurs.

Ms Parasol was one of four founders of Party Gaming, an online casino software pioneer. It merged with an Austrian rival, Bwin, in a £2 billion deal. Bwin was then bought by GVC Holdings, which owns Ladbrokes.

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority has approved her £25 million overseas investment in the British embryonic lender and deposit-taker. It is one of the largest single commitments to the banking sector since the pandemic.

All Recognise’s processes and technology have been built around being able to offer a “private bank” style experience for SMEs. Traditional bank products often come in the form of “one size fits all”, which can be an inflexible approach in some instances that doesn’t reflect a specific business’s needs. Very often, SMEs are obliged to use online portals which automatically reject applications that don’t meet banks’ rigid criteria. This has especially been the case since 2008, and exacerbated by COVID.

It expects to receive its banking licence in the coming weeks. RG Advisors will be playing a full part in the bank’s strategy and success.

MH Bland recently announced that the Development & Planning Commission (DPC) had granted permission for the new Cable Car project to go ahead. The decision unlocks a multi-million-pound private investment in Gibraltar’s tourism sector. 

MH Bland Deputy Chairman George Gaggero tells Insight why this development is so important for Gibraltar, especially for the local tourism industry. 

“The concept of a cable car was dreamed up by my father early in 1960 when he visited Switzerland where he saw the early version of cable cars and subsequently brought the idea back to Gibraltar,” George Gaggero says. “At that period in time, locals had minimal access to the Upper Rock because what we now know as the nature reserve was military land, so he worked with the Ministry of Defence and the Government of the time and eventually got permission to build the cable car in 1962 and on the 1st April 1966 the cable car opened and was hailed as a great innovation for Gibraltar’s tourist product.”

The closure of the frontier in 1969 for fourteen years meant a loss of the potential tourism market, and George says that they struggled on until 1986 when they decided that the original cable car system had to be upgraded.  “We overhauled the carriages and all the technical aspects, and it is now time to go through the same process again because at this point the actual buildings and structures are no longer fit for purpose because of the volumes of passengers that Gibraltar now handles with the advent of cruise liners and cross-frontier tourism.”

The new project will deliver a modern, environmentally-friendly tourist attraction fit for the 21st Century using swiss architects and engineers, known the world over for their expertise in building cable cars. Still, the building process will also generate local employment opportunities. Explaining that the demolition work will commence sometime between July and October 2021, George says that will start at the top of the Rock with the restaurant area. “We plan to build a temporary aerial ropeway down the east side; essentially it will be a cage, which will then allow us to send down all the rubble from the rest of the building so that we don’t use the road network which will still be used by coaches and taxis.”

“We are extremely conscious of the environment, and we want to minimise lorries going on the Upper Rock as much as possible,” George states. “Once the top station is demolished we will then bring the new building materials up by the cage, and although there will be a time when the cable car itself will continue to operate, all passengers will go straight into the nature reserve.”Eventually, the cable car will be demolished and the process of building the bottom station, installing the new carriages and towers, will take place with the whole process taking up to two years. 

Technology has moved forward, and George states that the latest automated equipment will be put in. “Rather than having two arrival platforms, there will be a pioneering moving platform to accommodate each cable car which minimises the size of the footprint.” 

“Solar panels will generate up to 75% of the energy that we require from renewable energy and the cable cars also generate energy by going up and down so we are going to capture that energy and convert it and that will allow us not only to power our own systems but to put energy back into the Gibraltar grid,” he confirms.  

Elucidating on what this project means for MH Bland, George says that there is a huge legacy issue of which the company is extremely proud. “This is a project that my father started in the 1960s, and we are guardians of the name, the brand and the cable car product, and not to invest in the future would be irresponsible.” He goes on to say that the world had advanced enormously since the 1960s when his father had the cable car idea and that he doesn’t want his children or grandchildren looking back in fifty years asking why they hadn’t done this. “We are trying to futureproof it,” he states. 

“Gibraltar has its traditional tourist product which is the apes and the caves, and we are constantly in contact with the tour operators, the cruise liner companies etc. who are always looking for something new,” George states. “It is much easier to promote a new vibrant product rather than the same old offering, and certainly when it comes to cruise line passengers, more than 60% of those passengers coming ashore have been here before.”The new cable car project is one that George says will raise the standard of the tourist product, not only in the tourist attractions but in hotels, restaurants, bars and gift shops.  “We want to draw a higher level of clientele to Gibraltar and to do that we have got to offer them what those clients would expect in New York, Hong Kong, London, Paris or anywhere else –and we hope that by aiming and achieving high that others will follow our lead.”

“In granting permission for this project to proceed, Gibraltar is sending a message to the world that we are committed to investing in green and sustainable tourism.  It is our responsibility not only to improve our product but to do so responsibly and sensitively.”

There are many different types of activities that you can take your children to. One of these are playgroups or toddler groups. They are valuable and a relevant resource that every parent or carer of young children should take advantage of. 

Looking after children under the age of 5 can be one of the most rewarding things anybody can do, however it can also be tiring and make adults feel isolated. Playgroups are a great place to help adults to feel less isolated and they provide a great opportunity to teach children how to socialise. 

There are many benefits of coming along to a play group session. Firstly, it gives you the opportunity for some quality time away from the home where there are always jobs to do! You can take time in a friendly welcoming environment to have a hot drink and make new friends while your child plays safely nearby. Due to this environment it is also a great opportunity for your child to experiment with independence, young children will confidently move away from you to play when they’re ready, safe in the knowledge that you are nearby and not leaving . Children will mix with other children at play group this gives them the ability to start to socialise, to learn to share and make friendships.  As a parent myself messy play was always my worst nightmare and I never wanted to do it at home. However, at play group it is an opportunity for you and your child to enjoy messy play without having to clean it up in your own house! There are also many other activities that you might not normally try, and it is just a welcome change from the toys at home! Spending time with your child at a play group in this way will give you the opportunity for positive interaction and praise which is important for your child’s confidence and self-worth. 

Being a new parent can be difficult at any time and playgroups allow you to socialise with people going through similar situations. A new child can be a huge adjustment. Parents may have stopped working or are staying at home and many parents can feel isolated, scared, and unsupported or just in need of a good chat! Joining a play group can help with these feelings seeing a welcoming face after a bad night, someone to discuss and compare notes with or just have a moan at can be greatly beneficial for all new parents.

In Gibraltar, the Parent and Child Society have been offering playgroups to the community for the last 10 years. The Society offers several different sessions suitable for all children under the age of 5. So, although it could be scary to come along to a new place, we encourage you to take the plunge and come see what we do at our sessions. For all the dates and times of our current sessions please follow us on our Facebook page – Parent and Child Society Gibraltar. @parentandchildsociety 

We look forward to seeing you soon.