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Top story
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Weak businesses will be weeded out, predicts Grove
The private sector will weed out the weaker businesses once it begins to take the weight of the public sector axe. That’s according to Stratford-upon-Avon-based industrialist David Grove, who spoke to Insider. Grove said that badly run companies would start to struggle to find available finance, which “wouldn’t be a bad thing” in many cases. He also expressed his support for many of the banks making “sensible decisions” when concerning lending to businesses.
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Deals
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Imtech pounces on Inviron
Building services provider Inviron has been acquired by European technical service provider Imtech. The purchase of Birmingham-based Inviron aims to improve Netherlands-headquartered Imtech's "value and enable additional growth", it said.
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£400m deficit solution proposed at Uniq
Shareholders of chilled convenience food group Uniq have approved a proposed restructure that aims to resolve a £400m pension deficit. Under the agreement, most of the shares of Uniq – which has a manufacturing site in Shropshire - will transfer to the pension trustees.
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Leonard Curtis agrees £5m finance deal
Recovery and restructuring firm Leonard Curtis has secured a £5m funding package with The Co-operative Bank. The firm, which has offices in Birmingham and Wolverhampton, said the funding would finance a national expansion of the business.
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Property
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£15m casino scheme green lighted
Birmingham-based St Modwen has received planning approval for a £15m casino, hotel and office development in Oldbury. The developer said the scheme will act as the catalyst for the creation of 120 jobs at the casino alone.
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Work starts on £30m college venture
Construction work has started on the £30m town centre campus for Dudley College. Leicester-based architectural and engineer practice Pick Everard and Birmingham contractor ISG have both begun work on site.
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Business
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GKN in £5.4bn sales boost
Aeroplane parts manufacturer GKN said trading profit leapt by £255m for the year ending 31 December. The Redditch-based company also said sales had increased by almost a quarter to £5.4bn.
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Hammond launches high-speed rail consultation
The government has launched a five-month consultation into the proposed high-speed rail link between London and Scotland via Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle. Transport secretary Philip Hammond said the project would deliver about £44bn of benefits and would cut journey times between London and other major cities by as much as an hour.
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Briggs wins £5m Travis Perkins contract
Briggs Equipment, based in Cannock, has won a £5m contract to supply almost 400 trucks to Northampton builders’ merchant Travis Perkins. The new flexible hire contract is the latest agreement between the pair.
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Green agenda main concern, says Wright Hassall
The first meeting of a national property association in Warwickshire has highlighted the growing need for wider understanding of green initiatives. That’s the view of Coventry law firm Wright Hassall, which hosted the Association of Women in Property event.
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