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Top story
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Support the Midlands' creative talent, says entrepreneur
The managing director of Birmingham-based travel company Click Travel is calling for businesses to support more creative graduate talent or risk losing out to other major cities. Simon McLean, Midlands Business Insider’s reigning Entrepreneur of the Year, spoke to Insider about the launch of the company’s intern recruitment programme and the difficulties of finding the region’s best employees.
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Deals
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LINPAC sells stock to private equity firm
LINPAC group, the international plastic packaging manufacturer, has sold five of its non-core businesses to Chamonix Private Equity. The Solihull-headquartered company sold the assets to the private equity firm in a deal advised by Ernst & Young’s Birmingham-based mergers and acquisitions team.
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Santander fuels HKS acquisition
HKS Motors, based in Leicester, has purchased Oldbury’s Bury Hill Service Station with support from Santander Corporate Bank. The acquisition is the latest in a string of deals for the petrol station operator, and the company said it will enable it to “continue to develop our growth strategy with confidence”.
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AGW Electrical lights up with £25,000 investment
An electrical company based in Smethwick has received £25,000 of funding to help the business expand. AGW Electrical (Services) received the funding from Black Country Reinvestment Society (BCRS), which offers companies in the region loans of up to £50,000.
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Property
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Colliers and GVA take Brindleyplace to market
Real estate advisers Colliers International and GVA have been appointed as joint agents to Brindleyplace in Birmingham. The five-building development comprises office space, shops, bars and restaurants.
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Business
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Midlands company failures drop 45 per cent
The number of Midlands companies falling into administration in 2010 declined by 45 per cent from the previous year. According to research by business advisory firm Deloitte, 316 companies went bust in the region last year, compared with 577 in 2009.
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DRP Group expands with jobs creation
Worcestershire-based DRP Group has announced it will create 12 roles within the business after celebrating its 30th anniversary year. The communications and events management company said the new roles were required after “considerable growth, investment and development of the business” in 2010.
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Small business will not be neglected by RGF - Cameron
Prime Minister David Cameron has emphasised that the Regional Growth Fund is designed to ensure the UK's economic growth is balanced and "spread more fairly across the country". In a speech to business leaders at an event attended by Insider, Cameron said the government would be looking to develop industries of the future, but added it would be a "big mistake" to neglect small high growth businesses he claimed were crucial for growth.
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Cadbury's Bristol plant to close in days
US food giant Kraft is set to close Cadbury’s Somerdale plant within days, it has emerged. The factory in Bristol has been making bars of Dairy Milk chocolate since 1919.
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Training is Gateway to employment boost
A Birmingham-based social enterprise is offering a series of free courses aimed at increasing self-esteem and getting people back into the workplace. Gateway Family Services said it will “make an impact in the region” by preparing people for the world of work and placing them in jobs and apprenticeships.
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