Behind The Balance Sheet

With car-makers and governments working to phase out conventional petrol and diesel engines, the appetite for electric vehicles will continue to grow.    The tipping point – when EVs are expected to be cheaper to own and run than combustion-powered cars – is expected in 2025.   Demand for EVs will, in turn, increase demand for the key ingredient used in their batteries – lithium.    With businesses and universities exploring how to develop large-scale battery production in the UK, the missing link in the supply chain is the lithium itself. Most lithium is mined in Australia and Latin America.    But that could soon change. Cornish Lithium is hoping to mine lithium in Cornwall.    The business was set up by former mining engineer and investment banker, Jeremy Wrathall.    I went to meet Jeremy at an electric car charging point in central London.    Behind The Balance Sheet is a business podcast, presented by Julie-Anna Needham. Each episode features an interview with a founder or leader. We hear about their business, discover what inspires them and find out what keeps them awake at night.

Ten years ago, Rob Halliday-Stein wanted to buy some gold online. But it proved harder than he expected, with few websites offering a straightforward service and transparent pricing.   So, using his background in e-commerce and a contact in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter, he set up his own website selling gold directly to customers.    Bullion By Post is now the UK’s leading online bullion retailer with annual sales of £125 million.    Rob has also set up an online jewellery business targetted at men buying gifts and established the immersive technology company, Holosphere.    I met Rob at Bullion by Post’s offices in Birmingham.    We discussed gold’s enduring appeal, why fear and uncertainty are good for business and how he ensures the gold doesn’t get lost in the post.   Behind The Balance Sheet is a business podcast, presented by Julie-Anna Needham. Each episode features an interview with a founder or leader. We hear about their business, discover what inspires them and find out what keeps them awake at night.

Plug-in hybrid Ford Transit vans, a top-secret clean room, composites for Overfinch Range Rovers, running Aston Martin's racing team, control systems for America's Cup yachts, ballistic protection systems for the Royal Navy - these are all examples of work carried out by engineering and technology group, Prodrive.  The business was set up by David Richards, following a successful career as a rally driver (he won the World Rally Championship alongside Ari Vatanen in 1981). Prodrive now employs more than 500 people across five divisions. “The culture from motorsport has been carried over into everything we do.”  I went to meet David at Prodrive's HQ in Oxfordshire, to find out how he turned a passion into a successful business.  As a former chairman of Aston Martin, David gives his thoughts on how Britain’s car industry can overcome challenges on a number of fronts.   We also talk about overhauling British motorsport’s governing body, Motorsport UK. Behind The Balance Sheet is a business podcast, presented by Julie-Anna Needham. Each episode features an interview with a founder or leader. We hear about their business, discover what inspires them and find out what keeps them awake at night.

“When we need to find new people, one of the main ways we find them is by going into the local prison.” In this episode of Behind The Balance Sheet, I speak to Timpson's CEO James Timpson. He tells me that the company wants to employ people with “amazing personalities” and plenty of former prisoners fit the bill (more than 10% of staff have been recruited from prisons). Alongside his role at Timpson, James is chair of the Prison Reform Trust. Trust and kindness are regarded as crucial to how Timpson operates. The business favours upside-down management, trusting branch managers to run their shops as they see fit. Despite recent expansion, the business is anything but corporate. There is a real sense of fun at Timpson’s offices in Wythenshawe, Manchester. A Director of Happiness ensures colleagues are happy at work. Alongside the Timpson’s main cobblers and key cutting business, other chains owned by the company include Johnsons, Snappy Snaps and Max Spielmann. Behind The Balance Sheet is a business podcast, presented by Julie-Anna Needham. Each episode features an interview with a founder or leader. We hear about their business, discover what inspires them and find out what keeps them awake at night.

Launching a new beauty serum, Maria Hatzistefanis tried to work out how to make it exciting and stand out in a crowded market.  Studying the list of ingredients she discovered something which changed the direction of Rodial, the beauty business she had founded. Snake Serum became a big-seller and helped put Rodial on the map. This was followed by another product, named Dragon's Blood.  Maria started Rodial 20 years ago. She did everything herself in the early days.  Since then the business has grown organically each year, with Rodial now sold in high-end department stores across the world.  Maria told me what prompted her to start the business, she gives advice to those considering launching a beauty business and explains why Estée Lauder is her business inspiration.  Behind The Balance Sheet is a business podcast, presented by Julie-Anna Needham. Each episode features an interview with a founder or leader. We hear about their business, discover what inspires them and find out what keeps them awake at night.

Up to 1,000 waves an hour will be generated at England’s first inland surf park when it opens, expected to be later this year.  The Wave will use the second phase of technology from Spanish group Wavegarden, creating waves that vary in size from 50cm to two metres in a kite-shaped lake the size of four football pitches.  I went to the site in Bristol to see how the building work is progressing, and find out more about plans for a second project near London.   The Wave’s CEO Craig Stoddart told me what the development will look like once it is completed, and the challenges faced along the way.

A company that exists to allow its customers to live better with less that lasts longer. That’s the vision behind furniture group Vitsœ.  The company was founded by a Dane, its furniture was originally designed by the German industrial designer Dieter Rams but it has been based in Britain for decades. Vitsœ shares a factory with a dance group. Everyone sits down together for lunch, cooked by the company's chef. I went to meet Managing Director, Mark Adams. After a tour of the business, they spoke about the company's long-term approach and the impact of Brexit.

Richard Bruges, Chief Executive of [Productiv](http://www.productivgroup.com/), speaks to Julie-Anna Needham in this episode of the Behind The Balance Sheet podcast. The green-technology focussed engineering group helps other companies make the leap from prototype to market.  After showing me around the Coventry-based factory, Richard explains why Dyson is his business inspiration, reveals how the business manages a variety of partnerships, and tells us how the UK can be at the forefront of low-carbon technology.