Shirebrook’s Sports Direct International has this morning posted strong interim results ahead of its year end on 25 April, with group sales for the nine weeks to 28 March up 2.9 per cent to £214m. Gross profit was up 7.9 per cent to £82m, compared with £76m in the same period in 2009. Retail sales increased by 6 per cent to £178m, and retail gross profit jumped 9.7 per cent to £68m. The board “is confident” of achieving a full-year EBITDA of “at least £160m”, having upgraded its expectations from £140m in July 2009.

Derby has signed its first formal trade partnership with China. The economic co-operation agreement between the city and the Shaanxi Province is predicted to lead to closer ties and increased trade. Derby City Council leader Hilary Jones and Li Xuemei, director general of the Shaanxi Provincial Department of Commerce, signed the agreement last week.

Business consultancy Cooper Parry has won a contract to provide IT services to Pall-Ex, the Midlands-based haulier. Cooper Parry’s software will be installed in the pallet distribution company’s head office in Ellistown, Leicestershire and is intended to drive efficiency across Pall-Ex’s operations in the UK and Europe. Meanwhile, Cooper Parry has promoted Rebecca Aldridge to director. Aldridge, who has been with the East Midlands firm for seven years, will be responsible for compliance and assisting partners Sarah Axe and Stephen Jones with two strategic projects. Cooper Parry has also appointed Stuart Honour as its IT consultant.

This week, Midlands Business Insider editor Andy Coyne reflects on the challenges facing the recent crop of 42 under 42 entrepreneurs. Finding funding, he says, is a general complaint. “It can’t be said enough that these companies are the lifeblood of our regional economy. They have shown incredible bravery to put their heads above the parapet and set up something which, if successful, will provide employment and contribute positively to West Midlands plc.” For more from Andy, click here.

Powered aerial work platform provider Lavendon Group, based in Lutterworth, has reported a 13 per cent like-for-like drop in revenues for the three months to 31 March 2010, as a result of “unusually prolonged adverse weather conditions”. Middle East revenues dropped by 13 per cent, reflecting the “ongoing recovery, particularly in Saudi Arabia, from the slowdown in demand” in the second half of 2009. Since the period end, activity levels have improved and the board believes it will meet its full-year expectations.

Some 153 East Midlands businesses were declared insolvent in March, down from 177 in March 2009 but up from February of this year. According to the latest Insolvency Index from Experian, the insolvency rate in the region increased by the largest margin of all UK regions, from 0.10 per cent in February to 0.14 per cent in March. Rolf Hickman, managing director of pH, an Experian company, said: “Insolvencies have been coming down since early 2009 and, despite monthly fluctuations, are now far more stable.”

Posted job vacancies in the East Midlands have only increased by five per cent in the first quarter of 2010, according to the latest TotalJobs Barometer. With job vacancies scarce, totaljobs.com also reports a 31 per cent increase in job applications to 13 per job – a 20-month high. Using data from the Office of National Statistics, the recruitment agency argues that a fall in unemployment figures does not account for the lack of vacancies for job seekers and that the “early signs of labour market recovery masks long-term unemployment woes”.

Sarantel Group, the Wellingborough manufacturer of antennas for mobile devices, has announced sales and revenue growth for the six months to 31 March 2010. The business posted a 17 per cent rise in GPS sales by units, alongside an 8 per cent revenue growth. It also expects full-year revenues to be between £3.1m and £3.3m. Chairman Geoff Shingles said the company had achieved success by targeting high-value clients such as the US military.

Smaller businesses based in the East Midlands will be able to benefit from a free seminar featuring experts from Google and Moonfruit in Nottingham. The Growth Investment seminar, How to Grow Your Business Online, will be held at the newly refurbished Nottingham Conference Centre on 28 April. Stephen Lusty, online sales and operations director at Google, is responsible for the global service and support architecture for Google’s advertising business. Wendy Tan White, founder of Moonfruit, was also part of the team that set up p2p lending website www.zopa.com.

One in five small businesses in the East Midlands has been hit by low business investment, unable to replace vital equipment as a result. According to research papers by Oxford Economics and the Open University Business School, 19 per cent of small businesses in the East Midlands are experiencing problems because they cannot upgrade equipment due to poor cashflow. The Finance and Leasing Association, which commissioned the research, is calling on the next government to provide incentives to help businesses invest in new and updated equipment.

Housebuilder Barratt North Midlands, a subsidiary of Coalville-based Barratt Homes, will be opening five new sites across the East Midlands in the next six months. The developments – in Leicester, Kibworth, Mansfield, Chesterfield and Hucknall – will comprise 939 new homes and have a total sales value of £139.6m. James Poynor of Barratt North Midlands said: “There is till strong demand for houses throughout our region and this is helping the housing market to outperform expectations.”

Capel House Property Trust has been given the go-ahead to build 1,000 houses on an urban extension site in Daventry known as Monksmoor Farm. The land is within one of the government’s four Growth Areas; two competing extension schemes submitted by other developers were rejected. Rebecca Warren of Clarke Willmott, which represented Capel, said: “The decision makes sound planning judgment and will ensure delivery of much-needed housing into one of the priority Growth Areas.”