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Specsavers has Nottingham vision
Nottingham has beaten off competition from Seville, Bratislava, Birmingham and Manchester to become the home of Specsavers UK service centre. Nottingham has a better infrastructure, said Specsavers. The offices will be at the NG2 business park and the multinational optical company has said it could potentially employ 300 people at the site. The offices will open in six months. Nottingham City Council is said to have been influential in attracting Specsavers to the city. Portfolio holder for Transport, Economic Development and Skills, Councillor Brian Parbutt, said: "This is a real tonic for Nottingham after the recent loss of jobs at Capital One. Specsavers is a major national brand and the fact that the company has chosen to invest in Nottingham speaks volumes for the city's competitiveness and underlines just how good a place it is to do business."
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Browne Jacobson triumphs despite credit crunch
Law firm Browne Jacobson has boosted its fee income by 10 per cent to a record breaking £35m up from £31.9m. The rise continues an upward trend, with the firms turnover more than quadrupling since 1997. New clients and panel appointments during the year included the Welsh Assembly government, construction giant Mace, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, Yorkshire Bank, GE Commercial Finance, Amcor and the Health and Safety Executive. The firm was also reappointed to a number of panels including the NHSLA, Lloyds TSB, and Derby Foundation NHS Trust. 
New funding source announced for East Midlands entrepreneurs
Aspiring entrepreneurs who have encountered problems raising finance for their business ventures are set to benefit from a new initiative by Emda and First Enterprise Business Agency. Enterprise Loans East Midlands, which will be unveiled in June, will provide funding support for existing and budding entrepreneurs. Enterprise Loans East Midlands aims to help 1,000 businesses over the next ten years by offering loans of between £3,000 and £20,000. The loan fund is specifically designed for people who are unable to access finance from traditional sources such as banks.
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Smooth ride for acquisition
Lincolnshire-based manufacturer of multi-rides and simulators, GS Engineering, has been acquired for a six-figure sum from its founders Steve and Denise Greenhalgh by entrepreneur Mike Newcombe. Talking about the acquisition, he said: I am delighted to have acquired this small but highly profitable business with an excellent track record and promising future. Newcombes son, Ian, will become a director and general manager of the business, which is being moved from its current premises in Holbeach, Lincolnshire, to Markfield where the Newcombes and Ian Black run Elegance in Glass, a designer stained and decorative glass products business.
Bargain hunt
Despite current financial market turbulence, acquisitions are on the agenda for many private UK businesses, according to research conducted as part of Grant Thornton's international business report. The figures indicate 45 per cent of privately owned businesses in the Midlands expect to buy another company in the next three years, compared with 40 per cent across the UK. The survey of 600 owners and managers indicates that while the mega deals may be drying up, the mid-market is still fuelling M&A activity with ambitious and well-funded companies now set to pick up bargains.
Sure-Can completes MBO
Kettering-based manufacturer of tin cans, lever-clips and tinplate panels Sure-Can has undergone a management buyout. The new management team will be very much a family affair with the Lloyd family controlling all the companys equity. Existing directors Jim Lloyd and his son Paul will be joined by Jims other son Stephen, who will have responsibility for the sales and administration functions.
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A touch of Finesse in Derby
East Midlands independent hotel chain Finesse Hotels has opened its latest 4-star boutique hotel in the cathedral quarter of Derby. The deal was financed by The Royal Bank of Scotland. The hotel in St Mary's Gate includes 38 individually designed rooms, two conference rooms, a 120-seat fine dining brassiere, a Champagne bar, a mini spa with three treatment rooms and the Chefs Table experience a first for the area. The hotel, which opened its doors in April 2008, will create 100 jobs in the city, taking the number of hotels in the Finesse Collection portfolio in the East Midlands to four, as well as adding to Derbys hotel offer, which has suffered in recent years.
Planning secured for Derby retail scheme
Stockland Halladale has secured planning approval for a retail warehousing development on the corner of London Road and Ascot Drive in Derby. The company, which was established in 2007, acquired the 6-acre site comprising a B&Q warehouse and a 40,000 sq ft industrial unit, let to Toyota, with a number of smaller units in 2007. The proposed retail scheme will replace the four smaller units, providing new retail units from 5,000-23,000 sq ft with associated parking. Innes Englands Derby office, which handled the acquisition, is dealing with the marketing of the scheme alongside Edgerley Simpson Howe.
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Blueprint boss joins Derwent Living
Nick Ebbs, the chief executive of East Midlands property regeneration partnership Blueprint, has joined the commercial committee of the housing provider Derwent Living. A chartered surveyor, Ebbs was one of the founder members of the well- known surveyors Innes England and a director of Black Horse Commercial (Midlands Division). He has had 25 years experience working on many of the major urban regeneration and development projects in the Midlands, which include City Challenge, Coalfields renaissance and the governments Sustainable Communities Plan.
Wilkinson steps down
Leading business figure Tony Wilkinson has retired from Nottingham Regeneration Limited (NRL) after five years on the board. Wilkinson, whose other numerous roles include chairman of Wilkinson Hardware Stores from 1971 to 2005, deputy lord lieutenant of Nottinghamshire, council member of The University of Nottingham and high sheriff of Nottinghamshire 2005/6, joined the NRL board in May 2003. Joint deputy chairman Mich Stevenson will take the helm on an interim basis until a permanent chairman is appointed in the autumn.
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