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Top story
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Dunelm embarks on expansion
Homeware retailer Dunelm is looking to expand its chain of 79 homeware stores into cheap vacant properties this year, helping reach its target of 150 stores. The news comes on the back of encouraging Christmas trading results for the Syston-based business, whose sales rose 2.3 per cent. Will Adderley, chief executive, said: “The past few months have been a period of huge turbulence in many retail markets and homewares has been no exception. We have seen a number of competitors exit the market as a result. In this context I believe Dunelm's performance has been very solid.”
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Deals
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Rock bottom?
The UK private equity market dropped to its lowest level for more than 13 years in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to data from the Nottingham-based Centre for Management Buy-out Research. The value of buyouts reached £994m in quarter four compared with £5.6bn in quarter three and £5.7bn in the fourth quarter of 2007. That brings the 2008 total to £19.1bn from 549 deals – a fall of more than 58 per cent on 2007’s record figure of £45.9bn from 671 deals.
Ennstone sells off quarry
Troubled Leicestershire building materials supplier Ennstone has sold its former natural stone works and redundant quarry at Stainton, County Durham, to a group of local businessmen for £1.3m. The company, which is burdened by a huge debt, is thought to be planning to offload its concrete business for £10m.
Pall-Ex secures new funding route
Pall-Ex, the Leicestershire provider of pallet networks for the logistics industry, has secured an eight-figure working capital package from Bank of Scotland Corporate. Martin Field, group financial director, said: “Our business is aiming to reinforce its position during 2009 and we are looking at a number of new commercial ventures.”
Grundy says Hello to Teling
Nottingham’s Hello Telecom has acquired the hosted voice business and customers of Teling in an all-share deal to gain its own BT interconnect network. Ken Grundy, chairman of Hello, said: “The Teling acquisition makes us a full-blown telecom provider. I believe that in this difficult financial market, there’ll be consolidation within our industry and we’ll be looking to make further acquisitions of companies that have synergy with Hello.”
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Business
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Experian grows 5 per cent
Experian, the Nottingham business information business, grew 5 per cent in the three months to 31 December 2008. Results published today indicate the company’s best- performing sector was its interactive arm, which grew 50 per cent, thanks to the CreditExpert service. Don Robert, chief executive, said: “We continue to adapt our business to the market environment. Our cost-efficiency programme is progressing well and for the full year we are on track to achieve our objectives of maintaining margins, growing profits and delivering strong cash flow conversion. However, with the external environment expected to remain challenging for some time, we are likely to see some moderation in the rate of organic revenue growth in the fourth quarter.”
Jobs created at Bridgeway Consulting
Bridgeway Consulting is to create up to 150 jobs at its rail engineering business in Nottingham over the next 12 months. The company, run by a team of former Railtrack engineers, advises Network Rail on the safety and integrity of infrastructures such as bridges and tunnels. Bridgeway is set to take an increasing share of engineering work under a five-year programme signed off by Network Rail, and is looking to take on engineers who have lost their jobs in the downturn.
Entrepreneurs working longer hours
Research from entrepreneur think tank the Tenon Forum indicates that nearly four out of ten East Midlands entrepreneurs have increased their working hours as a direct result of the downturn, adding eight hours on average to their working week. The long-hours culture is unlikely to improve in the foreseeable future, according to the findings. Twenty-eight per cent of entrepreneurs surveyed had already let staff go and 18 per cent were planning to cut wages by an average of nine per cent in the next 12 months.
House sales rise in East Mids
House sales across the East Midlands increased again in December, while in many other UK regions transactions hit a record low. However, expectations for the next three months dropped back into negative territory, according to the RICS UK housing market survey. The average number of transactions per East Midlands surveyor grew in December to 15, up from 13 in November. This was in contrast with the national average, which fell to 10.1 – the lowest since the survey began in 1978.
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Property
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£25m business park plan for Lincoln
Plans to build a £25m business park could bring 1,000 jobs, at least 80 new homes and 45,000 sq ft of office space, developers say. An application has been submitted by Millbrook Business Park for a 35-acre plot of land at Wragby, 11 miles from Lincoln. If it is approved, it is hoped building work on the site could begin in the next six months.
BSP enjoys an equitable life
Nottinghamshire property firm BSP is to spend £1.2m on refurbishing Equitable House, which overlooks Old Market Square in Nottingham. BSP bought the six-storey, 24,000 sq ft building from Barclays Bank and is using it as its headquarters. Remaining vacant space will be offered out for leisure and commercial tenants. Nottingham City Transport is to take space on the ground floor for £76,250 per year. Bet Fred, the bookmaker, has committed to take space on a long lease on the ground floor at £75,000 per year. BSP is in negotiations with a leisure operator, which could take further space up to 17,000 sq ft.
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People
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Coates joins MAG board
Penny Coates, East Midlands Airport’s managing director, has become a director of parent Manchester Airports Group. She also has management responsibility for the group's Humberside and Bournemouth airports. Her board role will be to “bring an additional focus to the group's customer experience and sustainability agenda at board level”. Coates is the first regional airport boss to join the board since it was established in 2001.
Wallace joins Medlink board
Medlink East Midlands has appointed John Wallace to its board. Wallace joined from the NHS two years ago having spent most of his career in the food and drink industry. He currently works as a director for Resource, an organisation providing procurement services to NHS Trusts in the East Midlands.
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