Thanks to Ed Goodman for putting together a nice article about our networking group in St Ives. It appeared in the Cambridge News.

1. 26 | April 15, 2014 | cambridge-news.co.uk | Cambridge News ‌
ONCE Nicky and I began
researching and planning for
Cambridge Business Lounge,
the first networking event that
I visited regularly was the A14
Coffee Morning in my home
town of St Ives.
For me, the event is the polar
opposite of groups such as BNI,
Cambridge Alternative Network
and 4Networking. In fact, if you
crave structure and formalities
from your networking events,
then the A14 Coffee Morning
probably isn’t for you.
The group was set up two
years ago by St Ives’ residents
and business owners, Shaun
Reinson and Rachael Orchard,
who both recognised a need
for more networking options in
their area. A year later, and the
organisational aspects of the
group were taken over by Alan
Bennett, owner of Media Image
Solutions. Since then, the group
has developed a core following
as well as regularly attracting
new faces. I asked Alan who the
group was aimed at, and he told
me that the group is for “anyone
who is in business – sole traders,
SMEs, and employees who find
networking beneficial.” He added
“We have a whole cross section,
including: professional services,
photography, complementary
health, communications and
public relations, Nordic walking,
audio-visual and more,”
what surprises
me is how the
group attracts
professionals
from a wider
area, with
attendees
reaching from
Huntingdon to
Cambridge, and
Warboys to St Neots.
The A14 Coffee Morning takes
place in The Tap Room café bar
on Bridge Street, St Ives, starting
at 9 every Friday morning for
about an hour. There’s no joining
fee, no membership subscription
and the only requirement is to
turn up, buy a drink, sit down
and chat with those around you.
That really is it. So, why does
the A14 Coffee Morning work
and who truly benefits from
attending? These are questions I
put to Alan, who started by telling
me that it’s because they offer
“an alternative to the structured
and sometimes intimidating
traditional networks out there”.
He went on to tell me that
“many people who come to us
are experiencing networking for
the first time, so as a group we
are keen to make newcomers
very welcome and at ease. On a
Friday morning we sit and chat in
a relaxed café lounge, where no
one makes speeches, and there is
quite a bit of friendly banter. The
most formal thing that happens
is that I note down who
attends!”
He finished
by saying “The
group does
create business
opportunities, but
more importantly
it also creates
friendships and trust with
others who you would be more
likely to give business to. I think
that is a win-win situation.”
Regular visitors to my column
will be aware of the variety
of networking events across
Cambridgeshire, and many
of the A14 Coffee
Morning members
participate in other
events too. However,
not only is it great to
experience variety,
but at the end of a
long week, I suspect
that the A14 Coffee
Morning provides its
members with a perfect
opportunity to relax,
unwind and grab a
coffee with their peers.
For more
information on the
group, visit meetup.com/A14-
Coffee-Morning-Weekly-Business-
Networking-in-St-Ives/.
We Are Recruiting!
At Cambridge Business Lounge,
we are recruiting for a full-
time office manager/PA to join
our team on a minimum six
month contract. If this sounds
like you, or someone you
know, visit and apply through
cambridgebusinesslounge.com/
who-we-are/careers/.
A14 Coffee Morning
is rather charming
The
14 Coffee
Morning takes
place in The Tap
Room Fridays
Ed Goodman,
founder of Cambridge
Business Lounge, on the
potential of the city’s
networking groups
This week: A14 Coffee
Morning
A unique small investor’s guide to the stocks and shares to
watch – from Histon painter and decorator Martin Flitton
Black box firm is
revealing prospect
S
hare overhangs or persistent
sellers, perhaps, understandably,
can have a significant impact in
anchoring particular stocks. While it can
only deter potential buyers from making
an investment, it may also temper
enthusiasm for existing holders.
So, when such an overhang is cleared,
the shares in question can be worthy of
a look, at least.
Over at 21st Century Technology
(C21), a company focused on
monitoring and black-box systems for
the transport sector, such a situation has
arisen.
Here, serial investor Peter
Gyllenhammer, who once held a 26%
stake in the company and who had
seemingly been dripping shares into the
market for a while, has finally exited.
Given that the shares appear to have
been placed elsewhere and have nudged
up to a current 6.25p, any positive news
from the company could see a reversal of
a recent downward trend.
Once known as Toad, and originally
based in Cambridge, C21 is a different
business these days with a strong
presence in public transport. Here
it boasts some familiar names as
customers, including Arriva, First Bus
and Go-Ahead Group, while it has also
made in-roads into continental Europe
and Scandinavia with the likes of Keolis
in Stockholm.
The products from the company
include CCTV systems which are used
on buses and coaches for safety
purposes along with
specialist monitoring
systems for assessing
the quality of driving.
There are also
offerings that address
analytics such as
automatic passenger
counting, automatic
data transfer, and fuel
saving systems.
While it could be argued that the
growth within the UK CCTV market it
serves is a relatively mature one, there
are nevertheless continuing upgrades
creating further openings, along with
significant growth opportunities in
European markets.
However, it hasn’t all been positive at
the company, hence the shares trading
well below the 14p achieved around
this time last year after it was hit by
some delayed overseas contracts and
the expiry of a previous contract that
was worth around £1.5m annually.
But, while revenue numbers were
reduced on the back of that news,
sending the share price southwards,
there may be better times ahead for the
business.
Last year the company appointed
Russ Singleton as CEO. He has a proven
track record in the sector, having been
with the highly regarded Quadnetics,
while Glenn Robinson, also formerly
with the same company,
stepped into the role of
CFO. Such appointments
should certainly help
with sentiment and
provide confidence
going forward, not least
as the two men know the
sector extremely well.
And since their joining
the company there have
already been some positive signs, with
both directors making sizeable share
purchases.
The CEO picked up 1.5m at 6.5p,
while the CFO bought 994k at 6.25p,
which may well imply confidence in the
future of the business.
And on the order front, there has
also been progress with the previously
targeted rail industry, now providing
some welcome wins.
Two awards were announced to install
CCTV cameras on trains at the back
end of last year, one of which with an
unnamed leading UK rail franchise is
worth £1.9m, the majority of which will
accrue this year.
That could bode well for the business
given the substantial spend earmarked
across the rail sector and no doubt
further contract wins in the area would
assist sentiment.
Indeed, public transport services
continue to grow, with solid prospects
outside the UK too.
Although at the last interim period
there was a downgrade for reasons
previously highlighted, given future
prospects the current rating looks to be
significantly discounted. The market cap
now sits below £6m and is little more
than 0.5x sales, which may suggest the
shares are worthy of a closer look.
Although its next set of numbers may
not see much if anything in the way of
pre-tax profits, in the past the company
has demonstrated the ability to deliver
decent numbers and could well do so
again.
The balance sheet looks in decent
enough shape too, while it is perhaps
worth noting that a few years back
the company returned 3.5p per share
by way of a special dividend after
completing a land sale of £2.3m.
With Peter Gyllenhammer’s exit from
the shareholder list, remaining notables
include Hargreave Hale with around 4.2%
of the company, while Slater Investments
sits on a more sizeable 15.3%.
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A14 Coffee morning: Well worth a visit
PRESENCE: 21 Century Technology (C21) is a key CCTV player