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Top story
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Kraft's profits soar following Cadbury takeover
Kraft, the American food giant which bought Cadbury in January, has seen profits soar by 13 per cent. Kraft announced a net profit of £530m for the first quarter, up from £519m in the same period last year. The addition of Cadbury continued to reap benefits for the US giant, which also said net revenue rose 25.3 percent to $12.3bn, which equates to more than £7bn.
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Property
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£4.7m windfall for new Birmingham homes
Birmingham City Council is to provide 234 new family homes across the city, after securing £4.7m from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA). The houses will be built in Sheldon, Bartley Green, Handsworth, Longbridge and Tyburn.
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Office space snapped up in Midlands
Take-up of industrial space in the Midlands increased 15 per cent in the last three months, according to property adviser DTZ. Grade A space accounted for half of all transactions in its second quarter.
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Deals
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SiRViS bought by Esteem
SiRViS IT Holdings, the remote IT service provider based in Belper, has been bought by West Yorkshire-based Esteem Systems. The acquisition was made for a fee of £10m.
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Business
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Lichfield and Tamworth to join business LEP
Birmingham and Solihull have a new partner in their proposed Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), as Lichfield and Tamworth Chamber of Commerce has thrown its weight behind the partnership. Birmingham Chamber of Commerce has described the move as “a major step forward”.
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Macartney leaves city council
Tom Macartney, managing director of the North Staffordshire Regeneration Partnership (NSRP) and director of Regeneration, has announced he is leaving Stoke-on-Trent City Council. He is expected to stay in his £150,000 a year post until the end of September.
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Lincolnshire fraudster jailed
A former director of Lincolnshire-based investment firm Imperial Consolidated Group has been sentenced for his part in a multi-million pound global conspiracy fraud. William Godley, who admitted his part in the £250m scam, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison.
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Umeco in new Rolls-Royce deal
Umeco, the supplier of supply chain services and advanced composite materials based in Leamington Spa, has extended its commercial relationship with Rolls-Royce. The contract is expected to generate annual revenues in excess of $20m and will involve Umeco providing supply chain services to the Rolls-Royce North American operations.
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Klarius fined £8,000 after worker breaks back
Klarius UK, the Staffordshire-based manufacturer, has been fined £8,000 after one of its workers fell more than two metres from a scaffold tower. Barry Derbyshire broke his back and was immobilised for more than six weeks after the accident.
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PR firm grabs Growth Investment’s attention
Nottingham-based B2B specialist Press For Attention PR has won a contract to provide public relations consultancy to the Growth Investment Network. The network comprises investors and professional firms which provides investment for growing businesses in the East Midlands.
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Other News
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Rates freeze expected, says PwC
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Community
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In Focus - A LEP in the dark
No one is entirely sure what they will be in charge of, yet local authorities are desperate to be chosen for one of the LEP teams. It's like a day on the school playground, says Midlands Business Insider editor Andy Coyne.
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Talking Point - Business begins at home
If charity begins at home, then surely business must by default? That's the question puzzling Jonathan Vaughn, managing director of PRIMA Hire, in this week's edition of Talking Point.
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