David Ross, the co-founder of Carphone Warehouse and BOA non-executive, says the £20m is like the “cream at the top of milk”. Given that at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, four of Great Britain’s golds were won by a total of just 0.87 seconds, this cream could be pivotal.
“If someone gave us £50m, we could spend it in 60 days,” says Pinsent.
The appeal has attracted support from Visa, adidas and Deloitte but is being anchored by 30 donors, 30 ambassadors and six patrons – the highest rank of supporter of whom only two are named, Lord Fink and Patel.
“We are being very British about sharing the stadiums,” says Lord Fink. “We are being entirely fair so we need to find fair ways to gain an advantage.”
Lord Fink was introduced to the Team 2012 Appeal by Patel and decided to donate following his experiences at previous Olympics. He attended the 2000 Sydney Olympics with a close friend who later died suddenly, and then had to watch the 2004 Olympics in Athens from a hospital bed after being diagnosed with a brain tumour.
Robert Swannell, the chairman of Marks & Spencer, is an ambassador, The former Schroders investment banker says he has always been “extremely interested” in the Olympics because of his family history – his grandfather competed in the 1924 and 1928 Olympics.
“I understand that success and failure is separated by fractions of a second, so I wanted to give what help I could,” he explained.
Rex Woods, Mr Swannell’s grandfather, competed in the shot-put for Great Britain in Paris and Amsterdam while also practising as a doctor. “He was a remarkable man,” says the M&S chair.
Donating to the London 2012 team has allowed Swannell to get close to the modern-day Olympians. The supporters are invited to watch training days, attend dinners, and go to sporting events with the athletes.
“They are risking all of their life for a very short period of time, you can’t help but be on their side,” he adds. “If you see them train and what they put themselves through it is astonishing.”
Swannell says a key part of the programme has been getting athletes to talk to staff at Marks & Spencer, which also donated as a company. “The message is that if you are sufficiently determined you can achieve what you want,” Swannell adds.
John Ayton, the founder of Links of London with his wife Annoushka, says the programme has led to modern pentathlete Katy Livingston and women’s handball player Britt Goodwin addressing staff at his new luxury jewellery business Annoushka, named after his wife.
“This [hosting the Olympics] could set a tone for the new generation,” he explains.
Ayton is now keenly following the progress of Mo Farah, the 5,000m and 10,000m runner, and Tina Cook, the event rider ahead of the Olympics.
The funds raised by the Team 2012 Appeal mean Cook, who has two young children, has been able to afford a nanny and spend more time with her horse before competing.
Ayton and the contributors to the appeal have no say over which sport or which athlete receives their funds – that is determined by the BOA and other sporting bodies – but their involvement in the programme has led to them developing attachments with certain sports.
“Through Team 2012 I feel I have played some small part and I’m sure our athletes will really do us proud this summer,” says Sir Stuart Rose.
“You should have heard me screaming at the curling in Vancouver [for the 2010 Winter Olympics],” Chai Patel adds. “If Vancouver is anything to go by the celebrations for even one medal is great.”
One of the reasons Patel became involved in the programme is that he believes success at London 2012 for British athletes will be a huge boost to the UK.
“As a nation we are a bit lost in a competitive sense,” he says. “We can’t do the 'Rule Britannia’ thing anymore and people find inspiration in difference ways these days. Sport acts as a great catalyst. It is not a substitute for education, but it represents a set of core values.”
With just weeks to go until the Olympics, success for Britain and the contributors to the appeal is fourth place in the Olympic medal table and more golds than the 19 won in 2008. Pinsent says the £18m raised so far is a “good job”, but is still targeting £20m to help achieve that goal. “Look at this pencil,” he says in the BOA offices. “It says Team GB, Better Never Stops.”
For further information on the Team 2012 Appeal contact appeal@teamgb.com or visit www.team-2012.com
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Hammersmith Apollo in London sold by HMV to Stage C - BBC News
Entertainment venue Hammersmith Apollo which has held concerts by bands from The Beatles to Queen, has been sold by its owner HMV.
HMV agreed to sell the west London art deco venue to American-German joint venture Stage C for £32m.
The 9,000-capacity venue was taken over by entertainment retailer HMV in 2010.
HMV chief Simon Fox said: "The Hammersmith Apollo is an iconic London venue and it has been a privilege to own it over the last three years."
The venue opened in 1932 as the Gaumont Palace cinema, as part of a wider turnaround.
It has played host to many famous performances, including David Bowie's last concert as alter-ego Ziggy Stardust in 1973.
It is also the eponymous venue in the BBC stand-up comedy series Live at the Apollo.
Stage C is jointly owned by London's indigO2 operator Ansco Music Club, a subsidiary of US company Anschutz Entertainment, and a subsidiary of Munich-based CTS Eventim.
The sale is conditional on banking approvals, shareholder approval and Stage C securing regulatory approvals.
With 252 stores in the UK, HMV said the sale allowed it to focus on its core retail business, while the proceeds from the disposal would be used to reduce the group's outstanding debt.
The sale follows a decision to place its HMV Live division, which runs 13 venues and a number of festivals including Lovebox in London and Global Gathering near Stratford-upon-Avon, under review.
The entertainment retailer recently surprised the City by forecasting a return to profit in 2013 despite estimated losses of about £19m for the past financial year.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Made In London: the capital’s boom in entrepreneurship - Daily Telegraph
Natasha Faith, the founder of La Diosa. Image: Philip Hollis
Despite the demands of running your own business, it seems to be an increasingly appealing option for many. The rise in university fees means larger numbers of young people are considering alternatives to a traditional third-level education and setting up their own businesses instead.
The internet has provided both the inspiration and the means for many young entrepreneurs to prosper. In London, a frenzied media storm has been whirling around Old Street in Shoreditch. Nicknamed the Silicon Roundabout, the area is home to numerous new tech start-ups, including Moshi Monsters (an online children’s game), Last.fm (an online music platform) and TweetDeck (a social-media profile manager).
Jon Penn is the 32-year-old co-founder of Spinning Hat, a quirky gift company, and is based there. For him, the attention the locality is receiving is well-deserved: “It’s very much the place to be for creative minds. A lot of new businesses are moving over from Soho to the Shoreditch area now, so it’s a buzzing place at the moment. There are lots of bars as well!”
Yuvraj Jatania is the 25-year-old co-founder of Pockit, a prepaid card that provides discounts and cashback on household essentials, and shares Jon’s enthusiasm for the area’s nightlife: “For a young entrepreneur interested in making it in the tech business, I’d say get involved in the meet-ups around Silicon Roundabout. There are lots of young entrepreneurs who meet up for informal drinks in various bars and pubs around the area. I went to a similar networking event myself and I met so many people who are doing tech businesses; you learn so much from them.”
Virraj and Yuvraj Jatania. Image: Philip Hollis
The term “networking” frequently crops up during our discussion and is considered crucial, despite the word’s “elitist” connotations being acknowledged by all present. Venues throughout London such as the Adam Street Club, Soho House and Shoreditch House are popular venues for industry get-togethers and should be visited by any would-be London entrepreneurs eager to make contacts.
Despite the internet providing new opportunities for business development and ample opportunities to meet like-minded people, emerging entrepreneurs will inevitably flounder. Faith doesn’t think this should dissuade anyone from pursuing their goals: “Failure is a good option. I think we have a notion, especially in British culture, that it’s terrible to fail, which stunts a lot of growth and a lot of potential in young people.”
So have any of them actually failed?
The other half of Pockit, 23-year-old Virraj Jatania admits his business didn’t get everything right: “One thing we did – we’re a tech business, with a big online platform – was to use an outsourced company for all our technology. I think doing it in-house is very important, and it’s actually cheaper.”
Smruti also recalls schools dropping out of her award scheme. A “fickle” demographic, school students that participated in the schemes were prone to apathy if they didn’t see quick results and needed “quick wins” to remain involved. She canvassed students for feedback and made changes to the structure of her programme. Now she has 400 schools across the country participating in Wings of Hope, and has had the support of PWC, Saatchi & Saatchi and the House of Lords.
Shalini Khemka, CEO of the London Entrepreneurial Exchange, suggests that the boom in entrepreneurship also owes much to the economic downturn: “What we’re finding is that the lack of jobs is shifting people into the private sector; unemployment is actually encouraging people to go off and do their own thing so a lot of individuals are setting up their own businesses.”
Faith decided to set up her company as a result of the recession: “It pushed me to start my own business. I felt an urge to start my own thing because money just wasn’t coming in. So I didn’t go to university and had the impetus to really push harder than I probably would have if the recession hadn’t hit.” Instead of pursuing a degree as her peers did, Faith decided to travel the world for a year and learned how to make jewellery in Mexico. That skill provided the foundation for her business.
Alexander Amosu, 36, is another entrepreneur who decided against completing a university course. After learning how to compose Jay Z’s song Big Pimpin’ on a rudimentary composer programme on his mobile phone when he was 21, he set up the company R&B Ringtones and sold ringtones to others. He was a millionaire by the time he was 25. He then founded Amosu Luxury Ltd, which sells high-end bespoke products; it’s famous for selling the world’s most expensive suit, yours for £70,000.
Faith and Amosu’s rejection of a third-level education is something that Khemka frequently encounters: “The majority of entrepreneurs I’ve come across haven’t had that education – they’ve had a bit of a tough life and learned how to make themselves focused.”
With the recession continuing, Khemka and the entrepreneurs are confident some of the country’s young people will tackle the threats of unemployment and debt with creative solutions. The Apprentice and Dragons' Den have made businessmen Lord Alan Sugar and Duncan Bannatyne household names; the increasing number of entrepreneurs looking to emulate their achievements means there should be plenty more British success stories to come.
Read Anoosh Chakelian's profiles of the entrepreneurs here.
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
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