Auditel’s Sizzling Solutions for Roast Restaurant

Cost management increases profitability by taking the heat out of the kitchen

Roast, a privately-owned restaurant, was opened in Borough Market, close to the City of London, nearly six years ago. Roast is dedicated to traditional British cooking using fresh seasonal produce sourced entirely in the UK. It has seating for 110 on two levels, and currently caters for between 2,500 and 3,500 customers per week, depending on the time of year. Since opening in 2006, Roast has added two takeaway outlets to their flagship restaurant: Roast to Go in Borough Market and Roast Westfield in Shepherd’s Bush.

Iqbal Wahhab, founder of Roast Restaurant, first came across Consultants Claire Power-Browne and Ravi Khakhria from the Auditel Cost and Purchase Management network at an Institute of Directors (IOD) event. The company were sponsoring one of the Director of the Year Awards. Iqbal was impressed by their service offering. He appointed them to run the rule over Roast’s business costs. Sergei Gubars, Roast’s General Manager and Wine Buyer, takes up the story. “Roast has been a success from day one. We are very busy and the restaurant is full, but I felt that we could probably increase our net profits by taking a closer look at our expenses.” Sergei liked the fact that Auditel did much more than talk a good game. “I was pleasantly surprised by Auditel’s approach. It was not at all aggressive. It was clear that they were experts at what they said they could do and weren’t afraid to go the extra mile.”
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Auditel Tightens The Lady Magazine’s Purse Strings

The Lady Magazine was founded in 1885 by Thomas Gibson Bowles, the maternal grandfather of the Mitford sisters, who wanted to create a “lite” version of Vanity Fair, which he had founded in 1868.Famous for its classified adverts, The Lady remains the first port of call for anyone seeking domestic staff, with vacancies listed for nannies, butlers and governesses. The Prince of Wales and Queen Mother are believed to have used it, and the Duchess of York famously once advertised for a dresser. The Lady is the oldest women’s weekly, and is thought to be the oldest magazine still owned by one family. It continues to operate out of a Victorian building on Bedford Street in Covent Garden, central London.

Ben Budworth took over as Publisher and Chief Executive in 2008. The famous magazine, which since the sixties had been owned by his uncle, was very run down and in desperate need of modernisation. Embarking on a crusade to revitalise this embattled brand, Ben turned The Lady, which had previously been a partnership, into a limited company, with his mother and siblings as shareholders.

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Auditel Make Initial Cost Savings of £266,000 for Soft Drinks Manufacturer

Silver Springs Soft Drinks is the third largest, independent soft drinks manufacturer in the UK, based in Kent. With a workforce of around 140, they produce a number of branded drinks including such household names as Perfectly Clear, 1870 Mixes, Pulsar Isotonic, Fruit Squeeze and Stripes Cola, as well as many own brand drinks for major supermarkets. Formerly, Silver Spring Mineral Water Company, a fourth generation family business, it was bought out of administration in September 2009 and a new management team installed.

With over 200 specialists covering the country, Auditel can deliver its fully independent cost and purchase management services to clients in well over 100 areas of business costs. They were initially engaged by CEO Gary West at the time of the purchase to ensure continuity of the electricity supply for the new company. “Faced with an extremely precarious situation, including the threat of disconnection, a significant increase in security deposit and uncompetitive terms, we were pleased to call upon Auditel’s expertise. Their team worked with us to ensure a successful outcome. In the process they re-wrote the rule book with a major energy provider, establishing a way forward.”

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“The Auditel Brand Promotes an Image, a Model and Values which I Believe in.”

Established in 1994, Auditel is the UK’s favourite and largest cost and purchase management franchise opportunity with a network of over 200 highly-skilled specialists. Auditel manages a broad range of business expenditure which includes costs as diverse as communications, energy, water, office supplies, freight, contract cleaning, merchant cards and general waste. Their client base of over 3,4oo in the UK ranges from small businesses to global brands such as Pizza Express, YMCA and Oxford University.

Among the newest intake of franchisees were Adam Gillett and David Kendall who had decided to set up a partnership in the West Midlands. Adam is an experienced Internal Audit Manager and has a track record of ensuring relationships with suppliers are profitably and sustainably managed. He realised significant savings for former employers.

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Auditel Sponsors the Winner of the IoD’s Director of the Year (large company) Award

Michael Portillo, Craig Errington, Edward Brewer, Auditel

On Friday 23^rd September, the IOD’s Director of the Year UK Final Awards Ceremony took place at London’s Lancaster Hotel at a special celebratory lunch. The event is the IoD’s premier event in their calendar and once again attracted an abundance of exciting high-calibre entrants from across the UK.

Auditel, the UK’s favourite Cost and Purchase Management Specialist were delighted to be sponsoring the IoD Director of the Year (large company) Award again this year. They welcome the involvement in raising awareness and celebrating the very best of business leaders in the UK. The award was open to all Directors from FTSE and other large listed companies who have shown excellence in their own region.

At the ceremony, Wesleyan Assurance Society Chief Executive Craig Errington won the Award after securing the West Midlands regional award earlier in the year. He then went on to win the main overall title as 2011 Overall Director of the Year.

Craig said: “This is a tremendous honour and I am delighted to have won. While it is an individual award, directors are only as good as the team and staff around them which is why everyone at Wesleyan can be proud of this accolade.”

Miles Templeman, Director-General of the IoD, added: “I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to Craig. He is an outstanding winner and I wish him and Wesleyan Assurance Society more success over the years to come. He has beaten some incredible competition from across the country to win the ultimate accolade – UK Director of the Year.”

Energy – A Burning Issue

How Financial Directors can Regain Power Over Rising Energy Costs Impacting Their Organisations’ Profits

Wholesale energy prices have soared in the last six months as high oil prices continue, the Middle East is uncertain and the nuclear disaster in Japan causes concern. The major energy providers have passed these price increases on to their business customers. Many face energy bills which could be 50% higher than they were paying only two years ago.

In June 2011, the FT and The Economist Business Barometer Research found that leaders foresee the biggest risks to their businesses to be rising costs of oil, commodities prices and interest rates. This prompts greater scrutiny of their profit margins and higher expectation for financial directors to perform in challenging times.

In July, after a second major British energy supplier announced double-digit tariff increases, RWE npower reported: ‘Three hundred major and small energy user companies counted energy as a top risk concern, next to sales and legislation, in their Business Energy Index 2011. Only 66 percent said they had a strategy to manage it.’

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Auditel Consultant David Powell to conquer Kilimanjaro for Charity

Leeds-based Auditel cost and purchase management consultant  David Powell is going up in the world! A few days after his 35^th birthday on September 17th, he is planning to trek to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro – 19,341 ft above sea level. This is Africa’s highest peak and entails a climb from 5000 ft to nearly 2o, 000 ft in just six days.

David, who has never done much more than walk up and down Sheffield’s peaks as a student many years ago, will be in a party of 13 trekking for up to 10 hours a day for the children’s charity, Candlelighters. Each of the team has an individual target of £2500, with a hoped-for overall total of £50,000.

Candlelighter, also based in Leeds, was established in 1976. It is a charity formed and run by parents of children who have or have had cancer and the medical staff who treat them. The charity provides essential services and support to children with cancer and their families.

Kilimanjaro is sometimes seen as the ‘easiest’ of the seven continental peaks, because there is no technical climbing with ropes or crampons. However, it is still a great challenge and at the higher levels, the air carries only 30% of the normal oxygen content.

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Celebrating the UK’s best business talent – Auditel to sponsor the 2011 IoD Director of the Year Awards UK Final – Large Company

On Friday 23rd September, the IoD Director of the Year UK Awards UK Final ceremony will take place at London’s Lancaster Hotel at a special celebratory lunch. The event is the IoD’s premier event in their calendar.

This year’s Director of the Year Awards have once again attracted an abundance of exciting high-calibre entrants from across the UK. The shortlists have now been drawn up and the second round of judging is underway, which means this year’s competition is reaching its conclusion.

Founded in 1994, Auditel  is the UK’s premier cost and purchase management specialist. Auditel manages the full range of business expenditures for more than 3,400 clients ranging in size from multi-nationals to museums and from national charities to local manufacturers.

They are delighted to be sponsoring the Large Company category at the IoD Director of the Year Awards again this year and welcome the involvement in raising awareness and celebrating the very best of business leaders in the UK. The award is open to Directors from FTSE and other large listed companies who have shown excellence in their own region.

“The Most Successful Auditel’s Supplier Conference and Exhibition”

Auditel, the UK’s largest independent cost and purchase management consultancy, recently hosted their 11th Supplier Conference and Exhibition at Whittlebury Hall near Towcester, Northants. Their partner companies for the event included EDF Energy, British Gas, Shell LPG, Travelex, Bluefin Insurance Services, Accept Cards, UK Telco, Scottish and Southern Energy and NatWest Mentor.

Auditel’s Managing Director Chris Allison, reports: “This was our most successful conference. It was a bigger and better event than ever before. Thirty five market leaders presented their unique offerings to our largest ever gathering of cost and purchase management specialists under one roof.”

Suppliers and Consultants agreed.

• “Particularly pleasing to see so many high profile suppliers.” Laurence Fitch, Auditel Consultant
• “The best conference we have ever attended at!” Leighton Wilcox, Cashflow Protector
• “What would I change? Nothing really!” Peter Harrison, Auditel Consultant

Team Auditel finishes the Great British Bike Ride – 350 miles in 5 days

Team Auditel - Day 5

The Great British Bike Ride, which was staged from Land’s End to Twickenham Stadium is completed. The five-day ride was designed for cycling enthusiasts, sportsmen and women wanting to take on a real challenge and at the same time, raise some much-appreciated funds for highly deserving charities.

Team Auditel, consisting of five intrepid Auditel consultants, their Business Development Director and a representative from one of their suppliers, took part in this year’s gruelling ride. All seven team members cycled the 350 miles from Land’s End to Twickenham Stadium. The target was to raise at least £10,000 for Auditel’s chosen charity, Help for Heroes. With an average of 70 miles to cover on each day of the ride, Team Auditel started training in October last year.

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