parkbench-issue-6

parkbench
issue 6
5
news, chat and goings on from the Jennings parks and premises
Ashgrove House
Hampden House
Monument Park
Thame Retail
The Boundary
Tower Park
resisting the
recession
Jennings has teamed up with
Business Link to run a FREE
seminar in Hampden House,
on how to survive the Credit
Crunch.
we are live!
After many months of hard work we
have now ‘gone live’ with the new
Jennings website www.jennings.co.uk
We worked alongside OXLink
(a Boundary Park tenant) on the
design and wording to incorporate
our new brand.
Take a peek and let us know what you
think? All feedback given (constructive
of course!) will be entered into a prize
draw to win a £50.00 voucher for John
Lewis.
Email your feedback to
[email protected] by the 1st April
The seminar will offer invaluable
tips on what to do to get through
these unsettled times, with
speakers on finance, marketing
and HR delivering some key and
practical advice.
The seminar is on Wednesday 25th
March - 9.10 to 12.00
There are limited spaces so please
book early to avoid missing out.
Call 01865 893300
Greenacres gets the green light!
Work is gradually coming to an end at
Greenacres Courtyard, our new ecofriendly units on Monument Park.
They have taken shape very well and,
as we had expected, there has been
keen interest from a wide variety of
small businesses!
The Hemcrete® material used to build
them has proved quite difficult to dry
out, partly due to the very wet &
wintery weather we’ve had over the
last month or so. Dehumidifiers and
heaters have been working round the
clock to make sure they are ready for
the first of the tenants to move in.
The units are 300sqft each and
are arranged so that 2 units can
be knocked together to form one
larger unit of 600sqft if needed.
Four of the twelve units have been
created as offices, with the others
designed as workshops.
If you would like to know
more about the site or are
interested in viewing, please
call Chris on 01865 893 201 or
[email protected]
parkbench
issue 6
fancy having some fun for charity? gymnastics
Are you free Sunday 10th May?
Jennings are looking to put
together a ‘Tenants Team’ to
take part in the Abingdon
Dragon Boat Day.
The annual fun raising event is run by
the Rotary Club of Abingdon Vespers,
held along side the River Thames in
Abingdon. The Boat is a 40 foot long
narrow boat, decorated with a Chinese
dragon head and tail, propelled by a
crew of 16 paddlers who are kept in
rhythm by a drummer. An experienced
member of the organisation steers the
boat and ensures that everyone has a
fun but safe time on the water.
Dragon Boating is all about having fun
while fundraising for charity! One third
of monies raised goes to Abingdon
Vesper Rotary charities and the
remaining two thirds will go into the
Monument Charitable Trust to support
local causes.
The day will be fun packed with a
barbecue, bar, various refreshment
stalls, craft stalls, raffle and lots
more………. hopefully sunshine to!
So if you are up for some fundraising,
fun and laughter please contact
Donna McKnight on 01865 893 300
by Friday 20th March.
club open day
Back in January Abingdon
Gymnastics Club officially
opened their new Gymnastics
centre in Berinsfield, with over
100 people coming along to view
the new premises.
save some pennies with B-Line
During January 2007 we teamed up
with B-Line Business Supplies, a local
Oxfordshire based company, in an
effort to add further value to our
tenants by introducing a Group
Stationery purchasing scheme. Since
then the initiative has provided an
opportunity for everyone to not only
significantly improve stationery
purchasing costs (by as much as 1520%) and streamline the whole order
process by using B-Line’s fantastic
website, but many have been able to
play a part in reducing the carbon foot
print of the business park by reducing
the number of stationery deliveries
made each week.
Throughout 2007 Jennings tenants,
who are already signed up, spent
£26,882.47 on stationery – which
B-Line donate 2.5% into the Monument
Charitable Trust fund – of which
Jennings double.
Here is a reminder of the benefits:
• Price Match Guarantee
• Improve Purchasing Costs by 15% +
• Reduce the Carbon Footprint of the
Business Park
• Order on-line efficiently and effectively
• Support Local Charities (£1,344.12
was donated to the Monument
Charitable Trust for the business
generated in 2007)
As many as 32 Tenants have already
made the switch to B-Line . . . why
don’t you find out how you can benefit
your business too.
Speak to Sarah @ Jennings to
find out more.
The Open Day received good
coverage on the local radio,
featured on BBC TV and also
received wide coverage in the
local press. It was a very proud
moment for the Gymnastics Club
committee who have worked
hard for over 15 years to find
their own place - something
Jennings are very pleased to
have been a part of.
Thanks again to all the
businesses that provided support
in fitting out the offices.
sonbc
Towards the end of March we will
be announcing the winner of the
Southern Oxfordshire New
Business Competition –
a competition we run every 2
years for new businesses in the
area. Entries have been coming
in from right across the south of
the County and it has been
pleasing to see the calibre of
those entering. Details of the
winners will be featured in the
Summer newsletter.
parkbench
issue 6
business spotlight
Document Technologies
Document Technologies has resided
at Unit 12 for 8 years now and we are
convinced we can still hear the ghosts
of chickens clucking after dark. Our
primary business is electronic
document management, a part of
which involves scanning documents,
so when the scanners are whirring
through thousands of documents a
day, the plaintive clucking is
somewhat muffled. However, when
the staff have gone home and
darkness falls ……..
Monument Park
tribulations. We have a sound client
base with large corporates such as
BMW, Virgin Media and Land Rover
and are currently trying to break into
the SME market which is not quite as
easy. Particularly in today’s market;
companies simply don’t want to part
with their money for something they
consider to be desirable but not a
necessity. But is this perception
correct?
Anyway, although I am tempted to
write a ghost story I have actually
been asked to write about my
company and what we do, albeit not
quite as interesting as the ghostly
chickens, but here goes…..
The Government is demanding it, for
compliance it’s vital, the benefits are
endless, so the question is, given the
irrefutable benefits and the extremely
fast return on investment, why don’t
we all have an electronic document
and content management system in
place?
Having managed Document
Technologies for a number of years I
was offered the business by the
previous owners in November 2006.
Naively, I considered the offer was a
‘no brainer’ and as I had been
running the business anyway, it
seemed like the obvious thing to do.
Two years, a lot of alcohol, chocolate
and sleepless nights later, I realise
that I simply didn’t know what I was
letting myself in for! Having said all
that, I would honestly say that I have
actually enjoyed running my own
company, despite the trials and
Perhaps people don’t understand
Electronic Document Management.
Our industry is obsessed with
acronyms designed to confuse
companies new to Electronic
Document Management. So to explain
in a nutshell, Electronic Document
Management entails capturing all
documents and the information they
contain, bringing them into a
managed electronic environment. This
is done either by scanning (paper
documents) or importing (electronic
files) into a document management
system. The document management
Seeneys Pet Supplies
Seeneys Animal Feeds &
Needs are delighted to
announce the opening of
their new store at The
Boundary, Garsington.
Due to the continued growth of the
Seeneys Ltd we felt there was a
demand for a ‘presence’ on this side
of Oxford, when Unit 4a became
available it seemed the ideal
location for this outlet.
Seeneys Ltd has been established
for just over 7 years and continuing
to grow. We have Seeneys pet
system creates a single start point
when searching for information,
making documents quickly retrievable
over an Intranet or the Internet. Even if
your organisation is spread across
multiple branches, everyone can have
the documents they need when they
need them. It's not just images that
can be stored. A document
management system can store
virtually any type of data including text
documents, sound files and video
clips. There are other obvious benefits
such as cost savings, disaster
recovery, security, increased efficiency
and many more.
An electronic system is more than just
a replacement for filing cabinets. A
document management system can
provide new ways to work. It can help
you develop a solution which will
streamline your workflow, letting you
deal with every document faster and
more efficiently. With a return on
investment of within six months the
cost benefits are irrefutable.
Convinced?
Visit us at www.dt-is.com
or call on 01865 400030
The Boundary
supplies in Abingdon and
Garsington plus we are about to
open up a brand new distribution
centre (with a retail unit attached) in
Weston of the Green.
We cater for virtually all types of
Animal, with feeds, beds,
medication, toys, etc. to suit all
tastes and preferences. Whether it
be a Horse or a Hamster, a
Chinchilla or a Chicken Seeneys
have it all. We provide a Delivery
Service if required and pride
ourselves on excellent product
knowledge, to ensure not only you
but your Pet gets the very best.
Do call in a say hello and we are
very much looking forward to joining
the ‘Jennings Family’
Tel: 01865 361333
Email:
[email protected]
parkbench
hello..
The Party Cake Shop is our most
recent arrival to join us on Monument
Park.
The party cake shop is an online shop
selling all you need for a
children's/adult party - from partyware
to cake tins and cake decorations.
Specialising in a large range of the
‘hard to find’ character themed
partyware designs and party bag
fillers www.thepartycakeshop.co.uk.
...and goodbye
We said goodbye to Nick Bruce at the
end of last year after 5 years with
Jennings, running Hampden House.
We wish him lots of luck in his new post
in London, happy commuting Nick!
congratulations
This month we say a
big ‘Happy 21st
Birthday’ to a
member of the
Jennings team Amie Coles!
Those of you that
know Amie will know
the celebrations will involve a lot of
vodka and all night partying!!
Carlos corner
Surviving hard times – A coach’s
perspective
A great way to survive hard times is to
remember when things were worse!
In my late twenties I met a young
millionaire who was bored at the age
of twenty-three so we forged a plan to
go into business together. I wanted to
help people and he had nothing
better to do so we were a good
partnership for a while.
After three years the relationship
broke down. The money was his so I
lost everything, even my sanity for a
while.
However, what I gained was a more
balanced perspective on what is really
important in life and this has enabled
me to always see a positive side to
every set of circumstances.
issue 6
ten questions
We welcome Chris Williams, our
new Centre Manager. Chris is 40
‘something’, comes from
Headington and has a partner
Jenny. We hope that Chris enjoys
being part of the Jennings team.
Here we find out a little bit more
about him…
1. What was your first ever job?
Selling hi-fi & TV equipment for a shop
in Oxford. I started as a Saturday
helper and then went full time when I
left school.
2. I believe that you and Mike
Jennings have known each other
some years, what was your
connection?
Everyone knows Mike somehow! I
used to manage the Jennings’
residential portfolio for a local letting
agent around 12 years ago and we
met each other then.
3. Do you have any interesting
hobbies?
Scuba diving is my real passion, but
only in warm water! I was lucky
enough to travel around the world a
few years ago & searched out some
really good dive sites.
4. What is your ideal holiday?
A tiny tropical island, with a good book,
a beach bar & a dive shop!
I later discovered that this is all that
coaching is: The ability to help
individuals to choose perspectives
that enable them to overcome the
challenges they are facing.
In my experience people can get so
caught up in the detail of what they
are doing with their lives that they
lose sight of the fundamental reason
for why they started out on the
journey in the first place.
What a good coach will endeavour to
do is to help
people regain
this perspective
in order to
grow their
confidence
and clarity
of thinking.
Carlos Dean
www.drumworkscoachingservices.com
For more information on any of these articles please call 01865 893300.
5. Football or Rugby,
what is your passion?
Both really, but Rugby
has the edge. I used to
play (badly) for a local
team, so maybe I
understand better the
level of skill & stamina
needed to be really
good.
6. I believe you are a dab hand in
the kitchen. What is your
speciality?
Trying not to burn things! Thai &
South-east Asian food is my favourite.
If you get it right, the mix of flavours
can be fantastic.
7. How do you like to spend your
weekends?
I live in town & Jenny lives in the
country, so we have the best of both
worlds when we’re choosing what to
do. I’m close to my family & have a
good group of friends too, so
weekends are usually pretty busy.
8. Do you have a celebrity crush?
Debbie Harry in her heyday.
9. What is your favourite ever song?
I’m a big music fan and like lots of
different genres, from dance, punk,
reggae, fusion & world music, so it’s
hard to choose just one. I could maybe
do a top 20...
10. How would you sum yourself up
in one word?
Sociable
football
prediction
competition
With less than a quarter of the
season remaining, the football
prediction competition reaches its
climax on Sunday 24th May, when
the Premiership season comes to
an end.
With money prizes being awarded
to the top 3 people in the
Competition, people near the top
of the table will be biting their nails
and dreaming of ways to spend
their winnings – no doubt.
The final results will be featured in
our Summer newsletter along with
details of when next season’s
competition will be launched