Member Blog

Gaming has risen in popularity, so much so that it has taken centre stage in the life of many people. Games like  Fortnite, Pokemon and Call of Duty earn significant amounts of revenue for developers and publishers.

The variety of gaming content available is vast with multiplier games at the forefront of the industry. Casino gaming is also rising in popularity with sites like Betboss.com providing information about the best providers in the sector.

UK companies securing their part of the action

The UK gaming industry accounted for half of the total entertainment revenue in the country in 2018. This meant that the money earned in the industry was greater than that for the music and video industry combined. In fact, the UK video game sector is the largest in Europe having contributed more than $1.96 billion to British GDP in 2017. Gaming companies in Norfolk are taking advantage of this growth in the UK gaming industry.

Gaming developer community growing in Norfolk

The gaming industry in Norfolk is an inclusive one. It is growing not just because of the sales it attracts but because of the community that has been created.

The Norfolk Game Developers group is a big part of this. The group has members from different backgrounds and they have various levels of development experience. With this in mind, the group does not just include professional developers, although those who do want to make money from a thriving industry are helped in doing so by the opportunity to build networks with other members of the group. Aside from this obvious advantage that the group creates, it also helps to create support for gaming, and related businesses, within Norfolk, together with other initiatives.

A welcoming gaming environment

The Norwich Games Festival is an event which is supported by the Norfolk Game Developers Group. It helps to create a friendly gaming environment in the area and also helps to promote gaming overall. The event is self-financing and aims to attract various groups in the local gaming community including:

• Gaming fans.
• People new to the gaming world.
• Families.
• Students of gaming related subjects.
• Game developers.
• Gaming startups and freelancers.

Events like this help to increase awareness of local gaming related businesses such as One Life Left which is a video gaming cafe in Norwich. Gaming enthusiasts can call into the cafe to enjoy playing their favourite games and have a snack and a drink at the same time. The cafe was opened by Jon Gage who had worked as a manager at Game and saw the opportunities that the growth in the gaming industry was creating in Norfolk.

It’s clear that the gaming industry is having a big influence on business in Norfolk. Whether it’s independent developers networking in the Norfolk Game Developers group or businesses like One Life Left opening up, there are many opportunities to be explored. Given the continuing growth of the gaming industry in the UK it seems like this is a situation which will continue into the future.

During this unprecedented time, whether your business is temporarily closed, has had a change in services or are looking for Coronavirus related signage, Signs Express is here to help. We’ve worked with the NHS for over 30-years as an approved supplier, and with over 65 centres throughout the UK and Ireland, are here to assist with any emergency or temporary signage you may need.

Encouraging social distancing in businesses that remain operational is of the utmost importance, with personalised floor graphics such as 2-metre-long arrows, footprints and other graphics being a great, cost-effective solution. All the while looking professional, incorporating your brand and, most importantly, supporting the wellbeing of your customers.

From NHS approved messaging to bespoke artwork, we can supply a range of solutions including banners, labels & stickers, vehicle graphics, notices, branded crowd barriers, digital signs and Health & Safety signage available for installation or supply only.

Please stay safe and take great care of yourselves and your loved ones. We are in this together and we will get through this together.

The current Government ‘Stay at Home Rules’ state that children under 18, who do not live in the same household as their parents, or one of their parents, can move between households for the purposes of continuing existing arrangements. This provides an exception to the mandatory stay at home requirements.

However, whether a child or children should continue to move between households will be a decision for the parents to make after carefully considering various issues such as the health of the child or children, the risk of infection and the presence of any recognised vulnerable individuals in either household. Parents will also have to balance these considerations against the potential harm to the child or children if existing arrangements are stopped or varied.

Richard Dilks, Head of Family Law at Hatch Brenner comments: “By far the best way to consider these issues is for the parents to communicate with one another constructively whilst keeping the question of what is in the best interest of the child or children at the forefront of their minds. If parents find it difficult to communicate then they could seek the help of a Family Mediator or a specialist Family Law Solicitor. If it is agreed that existing arrangements should be varied, then it would be a good idea for the changes to be recorded by both parents.”

Guidance from the Family Court has made it clear that where one parent exercises their parental responsibility to vary an existing arrangement without the agreement of the other parent then if this is subsequently questioned by the other parent in the Family Court, the Court is likely to look to see whether each parent acted reasonably and sensibly. Parents should not use the current health crisis as a reason to frustrate existing arrangements for children to spend time with their other parent.

If a decision is made by one parent or both parents to vary existing arrangements then parents should look at other ways in which children can keep in contact with the other parent remotely by using Skype, Facetime and Zoom, for example, or through messaging services and the telephone.

If you have a family law query about children disputes at this time, please contact Richard Dilks, Norwich Family Law Solicitor via 01603 660 811 or at [email protected]

We are delighted to have been approached by Piiq Risk Partners to help carry out SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). Specifically, to help rank the new site for their brand name ‘Piiq Risk Partners’ which is essential with any site launch and also keywords relating to aviation insurance and risk management solutions.

Our Approach

With the site built in Craft CMS, we spent a day understanding the structure and build of the website. Although a lot of the site is designed using hashbangs, where you click on a link and it renders lower down the page, rather than opening a new page – there are still around 6 pages which is sufficent to rank well on Google. Ideally, we would prefer the website to have 20 or 30 individual pages rather than using one, but initially this should not be a problem.

We have used our regular SEO tools of SEMrush and Screaming Frog to identify any quick wins from a technical perspective, including:

• Meta-data optimisation
• Image optimisation
• Heading optimisation
• Sitemap optimisation

And we presented a list of changes to the client to provide their feedback.

Phase 1

In Phase 1 of the website, we intend to make all the suggested changes live and we should see an immediate impact or secure rankings for their brand name within the first 6 weeks of the campaign.

In addition to site fixes, we have encouraged the client to add more content to the website, to especially beef it up a bit for Google’s eyes and also generated some natural links to point to the site from partners and PR. The links should effectively strengthen the domain, which will be vital to secure stronger rankings.

Phase 2

In Phase 2 of the site, we look forward to building a full SEO campaign. This will begin by compiling a long list of keywords that are relevant to Piiq Risk Partner’s proposition – surrounding aviation insurance and risk management solutions. Our keyword list will combine both short-term keywords (e.g aviation insurance) and long-tail keywords (insurance for jet engines and insurance for aeroplane engines) – to cover a full range of search.

To maximise our rankings for these keywords, we will create a series of landing pages to target each key phrase and continue to acquire links through aeroplane/aviation specific websites and mainstream press. We will maintain our technical audit of the website by carrying out regular checks using our SEO tools – and this will enable us to secure the best rankings possible within the next 3 to 6 months.

As coronavirus cases hit 3 million, and surpass over 200,000 deaths, countries from all over the world have begun to impose lockdown and social distancing measures, attempting to slow the spread of the virus, and save lives in the process. Whilst necessary, these restrictions have had a drastic impact on numerous different industries, including sports and sports betting – with such major events as the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and the UEFA Champions League finals postponed in response to COVID-19. With so many major sporting events for this year now postponed, the sports betting industry is taking a significant blow, potential bets throughout all types of sports now drying up. As with most industries through this period of uncertainty, betting, and gambling as a whole, have had to adapt to the current situation in order to stay afloat whilst we wait out the pandemic. Two of the major ways the industry is coping with this blow include the rise in virtual sports and online casinos, with many online searches, including the likes of ‘new online casino‘ increasing as more people take to the internet to play.

Virtual Sports

Whilst many physical sporting events have been either cancelled or postponed due to COVID-19, many sites still offer a variety of different virtual sports for users to bet on, including:

• Football
• Horse racing
• Greyhounds
• Track cycling
• Motor racing

With virtual sports, users can choose from a selection of fixed odds games, with outcomes decided using a random number generator (RNG). All users participating will have the same outcomes from the virtual game/event. Bets are set up by the bookmaker, with outcomes always being decided via an algorithm so that the winner is chosen without bias.

One of the main differences between physical and virtual sports betting, besides the setting, is that virtual events can occur numerous different times throughout the day, offering users more games to choose from.

Whilst virtual sports aren’t quite the same experience as real-life events, with so many cancellations and postponements, these e-games provide an effective way to fill the gap whilst the sporting world waits for COVID-19 to end.

Online Casinos

As betting on sports is a form of gambling, many of the sites offering this will also offer other types of games, including slots, poker, roulette, blackjack and more. This means that whilst sports betting may be a relatively dry area for the industry at present, operators still have users coming to their sites to play online casino games.

In the same way that virtual sports replicates real-life sporting events, online casinos are a type of virtual casino simulating bricks-and-mortar casino houses. Aside from the obvious different of being a virtual space, online casinos also differ from regular casinos in many other ways: offering bonuses (e.g. free spins and no deposit) and varying payment methods. As is the case for many industries at present, COVID-19 has had a considerable impact on gambling operations. However, with the rise of the online world and all the technological advancements its brought, the gambling sector, much like other businesses, is adapting to survive the temporary shut-down to many of its physical attributes.

At last it appears that we’ve reached, or will shortly reach the peak of COVID-19 pandemic, meaning that the curve of infection should begin/continue to flatten and decline. And with that, should follow the relaxation of the lockdown, meaning we’ll start to see businesses re-opening allowing us to abandon our home offices and head back to those places of work we left so many weeks ago! But we’re going back to a strange new place of work; it won’t be like going back to work after the Christmas break, and it’s unlikely to be ‘business as usual’ – by any stretch of the imagination. With social distancing and hygiene measures likely to practised until the end of the year, companies will require a range of health and safety products to ensure the safeguarding of staff and customers.  So over the last week or so we’ve been adding products to our Expert Banner website – to help you prepare for the return to your office. And many of these products are ‘ready to go’ – no artwork required. We’ve included vital social distancing tools such as floor stickers, banners and sneeze guards, along with a range of health advice signage, sanitiser stations, posters, strut cards and flyers. You can see our product range here. But please check back regularly, as I’m ‘on this’ now, and will be adding new products on a regular basis. If there’s something specific that you’re looking for, please drop me an email and i’ll do my best to source it for you. Stay safe!

Profits (and losses) for farm businesses are known to fluctuate quite substantially year on year for a number of reasons which are often beyond the control of the farmer.  For an arable farmer, the quality and yields achieved are affected by weather patterns and the effect of uncontrollable pests and weeds, such as flea beetle and blackgrass. Global commodity prices and the value of the pound also dictate the selling price achievable for harvested crops and livestock, as well as input prices for inputs.

The current tax system also adds to the potential fluctuations with the ability to claim 100% tax allowances (the Annual Investment Allowance) on up to £200k (£1m up to 31 December 2020) of machinery purchases each year, through the capital allowances legislation. This can cause substantial peaks and troughs in taxable profits being reported to HMRC each year. The impact this has on personal tax is substantial and this is why for many years farmers and market gardeners have been able to benefit from a well-known tax adjustment known as ‘farmers’ averaging relief’.

The positive effect that farmers averaging relief can have is twofold:

• it can help to keep taxable income below certain tax thresholds and utilise tax allowances to reduce the annual tax burden; and
• there can also be a cash flow benefit with reduced payments on account for the following tax year.

Since 2017, taxpayers eligible for the relief have been able to benefit from an extension to the rules, allowing for the taxable profits to be averaged over either five tax years or two tax years, and have the option to decide which method to use on a year by year basis. This has provided welcome relief to some taxpayers from potentially onerous tax liabilities.

Aside from the headline Income Tax rates, there are other considerations to be made when deciding whether or not to claim farmers’ averaging relief in any given tax year:

• will this affect our ability to access finance?
• will child benefit be repayable in any given year?
• will this impact the ability to gain a full state pension?
• will pension contributions gain maximum tax relief?
• are Gift Aid payments being fully utilised?

If you have any questions, please get in touch with your usual contact at MHA Larking Gowen, or email [email protected]

You can find contact details on the Our People section of the MHA Larking Gowen website.

Andrew Whiting

Although it may feel like it was only yesterday that you finalised your self-assessment tax return for the 2018/19 tax year, the uncertainty arising from the COVID-19 pandemic means there is more value than ever in supplying us with the information required to complete and file your 2019/20 tax return early; the potential benefits may include:

• cashflow – if you have a tax liability, early calculation of what you owe should allow you more time to plan payment. If you are due a repayment from HMRC, this could be repaid to you more promptly following an early submission of the return. HMRC has announced extensions for the payments of some taxes as detailed in our blog here https://www.larking-gowen.co.uk/insights/blog-tax-payment-deferrals/.
• tax planning – if your affairs have changed in the year, or you anticipate making key decisions that will affect your future, early completion of your tax return allows for consideration of planning opportunities that could mitigate the tax payable in the future and help manage the challenges ahead.
• making time for you -taking a proactive approach in addressing your tax affairs well before the January deadline will allow you to focus on the things that matter the most to you and your business.

If you have any queries, or would like to discuss your self-assessment tax return or payments on account, please get in touch with your usual MHA Larking Gowen contact in the first instance or email:

[email protected]

Cindy Chaplin

If you have previously dismissed claiming child benefit as your income is over the £60,000 per annum threshold, now is a good time to review your situation and maybe start to reclaim.

In these unprecedented times, and with the introduction of the governments Job Retention Scheme (Furlough), many individuals may see their income levels go down. Individuals placed on the 80% Furlough scheme who previously earnt £60,000 (or just over) will now be receiving under £50,000 and may become eligible to claim child benefit. Alternatively, you may see a reduction in your rental or self-employment income.

As it is not known how long such reductions are likely to go on for, or the long-term effects, child benefit may provide you and your family with some extra cash each month.

For the 2020/21 tax year child benefit rates are £21.05 per week for your first child and £13.95 per week for subsequent children. Meaning a family with two children could be entitled to £1,820 a year.

Please be aware however, that a claim for child benefit can only be back dated for three months so you will need to act sooner rather than later to initiate a claim from the beginning of the tax year.

Information on eligibility and how to make a claim can be found on HM Revenue & Customs website here; https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit

Should you make a claim and at the end of the tax year your income exceeds £50,000 but is less than £60,000 you will be required to submit a tax return and repay a proportion of the benefit received. The amount repayable is 1% for every £100 earnt over £50,000. If you earnt over £60,000 the full amount will be repayable via your tax return. The deadline for submitting your 2019/20 tax return online and making the repayment will be the 31 January 2022.

As many families are in different circumstances each case would need to be reviewed on an individual basis. However hopefully this blog gets you thinking about other ways you can ease cash flows.

If you have any questions, please get in touch with your usual contact at MHA Larking Gowen, or email [email protected]

You can find contact details on the Our People section of the MHA Larking Gowen website.

Sally Farrow

The COVID-19 pandemic is touching all aspects of our lives. Even though the Government is providing comprehensive support through this difficult time, the personal financial circumstances of many will be dramatically affected by the crisis.

This poses a particular set of challenges to residential landlords, whose income is determined by their tenants’ ability to make rental payments. This may be particularly concerning because renters have been given enhanced protection against eviction. So what can be done if these tenants can’t or won’t pay?

Although this question is mainly a legal one, here are some practical tips which may help before it comes to this.

Honest and open communication with tenants is key. This is a difficult time for everyone and adopting an open-minded, proactive approach may help you and your tenants to understand each other’s situations and perspectives. This may allow you to agree a course of action that provides a way forward satisfactory to both parties.

Is it possible to reduce your expenses?

• Homeowners and landlords can now apply for a three-month mortgage payment holiday by contacting their lender; many of whom have other supportive measures in place, such as payment holidays on personal loans and credit cards, and allowing early access to savings. Contact your lender to find out what support they may be able to offer.
• Check the terms of your rental contracts and identify any expenses which your tenants are obliged to meet, perhaps council tax; the pandemic does not automatically relieve all legal obligations.
• Consider which expenses are essential and whether some could be paused or stopped, perhaps maintenance contracts and other subscription services that you aren’t contractually obliged to sustain.
• If you also have income subject to self-assessment, could you reduce your tax deductions with a change to your tax code?

If you or your tenants need temporary financial support throughout the duration of the crisis, make sure you understand what’s available. This is changing all the time, but consider:

• Making use of government schemes to support incomes, such as the job retention scheme and the self-employed scheme (note that renting property on its own doesn’t qualify).
• If you’re due to make a payment on account in respect of your personal tax or would be liable to HMRC for a VAT payment, read about your ability to defer that payment.
• Can your tenants access universal credit or housing benefit? Although a landlord owning a rental property will be unlikely to have access to universal credit, depending on a tenant’s circumstances, they possibly will.

As always, if you need more help and advice regarding your rental situation, we suggest you speak to a legal or financial professional.

If you have any questions about your personal tax affairs, please get in touch with your usual contact at MHA Larking Gowen, or email [email protected]

You can find contact details on the Our People section of the MHA Larking Gowen website.

Ed Millsted

Most companies are trying to figure out what their marketing strategy should be in this unprecedented crisis. Here are a few pointers which we hope you will find useful.

Take Action Now

Don’t hide away and wait for this to blow over. It’s important to do something now to make sure that your brand comes through this in a strong position. Doing nothing will make your brand weaker when things start improving.

Talk To Your Customers

Find out what challenges your customers are facing and how you can help them. They may have many questions about how the COVID-19 crisis will impact on your service and product delivery. Phone lines may be overloaded so make sure you answer all your questions on your website. Set up a COVID-19 FAQs page and ask them to email questions. Also use social media to communicate with your customers and answer any questions they may have.

Increase Social Media Presence

Increase your social media activity with posts to help your customers and knowledge leadership articles that will be useful to them. This is a good way of keeping your brand in front of people especially when most people are at home working, looking after children etc.

Design a Website or Set up a Facebook Page

Many small independent businesses in retail and hospitality can’t rely on footfall now. Start engaging with your customers online as fast as you can with a small website or a Facebook page. See how you can serve your customers online by innovating and using digital. What products can you deliver? Can you provide a service online through video? This crisis will change business and how we do things, so make sure your business has a plan.

Google My Business

If you are a local business then now is the time to get on Digital Marketing then please get in touch with us.

Bigfork 01603 513080

Like many of you reading this I’m working from home (on my newly acquired yoga ball) with one eye on the children who are today “back at school”.  So far, so good, heads are bent over books and laptops and the timetables we drew up together are being followed. However, I’ve little doubt that at some point this week they will be torn up or abandoned as the motivational challenge gets too great.

Keeping up our motivation and staying focussed is hard when you’re working with uncertainty, when you’re dealing with things you’ve never dealt with before and you’re constantly bombarded with information.  In this situation it’s difficult managing the day to day, let alone carving out the space and time to think clearly about “what next”, let alone what comes after “next”.  As a Business Improvement District (BID), supporting over 500 businesses across the retail, hospitality and leisure, professional services and public sectors that’s what we need to try and do.  Up until now, our primary role has been to promote King’s Lynn town centre as a place to visit, shop, relax, work, do business. It’s about boosting footfall and dwell time, shining a light on all the brilliant sights and services that you can find in our town.

Clearly that role isn’t appropriate right now so instead we’ve focussed on signposting our members to reputable and reliable sources of advice, connecting them to people and organisations that might be able to help. We’re listening and gathering issues to champion with our local authority and MP, and collecting up ideas and information from other BIDs and national sources to fuel our thinking about “what next”.  

Working on recovery and beyond recovery to thriving excites and motivates me, guided in part by a blind optimism that things will get better and by the everyday stories of businesses who are adapting and developing. Piecing together ideas to form a plan will involve more listening, understanding, mapping and gathering inspiration from right across the sectors that we support, as well as tapping into the mood of the consumer; there’s a lot of talking (and reflecting) to be done!

In addition, I will draw on the invaluable insights and experiences of our national bodies; British BIDs, ATCM and The BID Foundation who at this time are undertaking very similar tasks to us as a BID, just on a different level. They have been working to ensure that Government is receiving evidence and information about the impact of Covid-19 on town centre economies as well as the impact on organisations like BIDs.  This latest survey for MHCLG will provide specific data relating to occupiers and landlords, it will be used to further understanding about the vulnerability of particular places and will inform decisions about programmes of support. If you can find 5 minutes with a cuppa to complete it, your input would be much valued.

Take part in the survey survey now.