Birmingham travel company the National Express Group has launched a £225m ten-year Sterling bond issue, which it says will help pay back its bank debt. The company expects the bond to be issued on 17 June 2010 with an annual coupon of 6.625 per cent and a bullet repayment on 17 June 2020. The news comes afer National Express issued a £350m seven-year bond in January 2010. The company says the new bond will further extend the average maturity of the group's debt, reduce its reliance on bank financing and diversify and strengthen its overall funding structure. Jez Maiden, group finance director, said: "The successful launch of our ten-year bond has allowed us to refinance the majority of our 2011 bank debt ahead of schedule. Leading bond investors have continued to be strongly supportive of National Express, despite uncertain credit markets, and we have the long-term capital structure in place to deliver opportunities across the group."

Leicester-based recruitment firm A La Carte has been bought by Staffline of Nottingham for an undisclosed sum. The company, which employs 30 people at its offices in Granby Street, supplies temporary and permanent staff for the food, catering and hospitality sectors. A La Carte says none of its employees will be affected by the sale and the Vitols brothers are to remain with the business. Its brand identity will also stay the same with A La Carte continuing to concentrate on Leicestershire and the East Midlands. AIM-listed Staffline has more than 130 branches nationally. For Insider comment click here.

KBC Business Capital has provided an £8m ABL facility to support the refinancing of the senior debt facilities of Birmingham-based NeutraHealth. The new financing will enhance NeutraHealth’s working capital facilities and help to support the growth plans of the business, said KBC. The facility comprises a mixture of accounts receivable, inventory and a cash-flow loan. AIM-listed NeutraHealth manufactures, distributes and sells neutraceutical products such as vitamins, minerals and supplements – mostly in the form of pills and capsules.

Sutton Coldfield-based Contract Fire Security (CFS), a provider of fire and security services, has bought Sector Guard, a southern-based security company that was part of the Legion Group. The purchase provides CFS with 2,700 contracts for CCTV and intruder services, and is the fourth acquisition the company has made in the last 18 months. For Insider comment click here.

Business leaders in the Midlands have welcomed the decision by the Bank of England to keep interested rates at an all-time low of 0.5 per cent. Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCI) urged the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to keep rates low while the economic recovery is underway. BCI head of policy Katie Teasdale said: “In our view, raising rates to tackle the spectre of inflation would stymie growth at a key point in the economic cycle.” However, George Cowcher, chief executive of the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce, sounded a warning: “The MPC will only be able to maintain low interest rates for a prolonged period if the Chancellor presents a credible medium-term plan for tackling the deficit.”

Lutterworth supplier of identity management software Intercede has seen its revenues increased from £5.7m to £6.2m for the year ending 31 March 2010 – but profits have fallen from £1.7m to £0.5m over the same period. Richard Parris, chairman and chief executive of Intercede, said: “Our performance this year demonstrates how we have capitalised on this opportunity. We are becoming involved in increasingly long-term projects across the world, we are financially strong and the millstone of patent litigation has been removed. We therefore remain optimistic about our future prospects."

The leader of Birmingham City Council, Mike Whitby, has praised the work being carried out by Birmingham Science Park Aston (BSPA) to develop a knowledge economy within the city. Speaking at the Celebrating Birmingham Innovation & Entrepreneurship event, Whitby said: “Birmingham’s heritage is famously founded on industrial innovation and manufacturing, and whilst manufacturing remains a central plank in the region’s economy, future economic success must be derived from the utilisation of knowledge, skills and innovation.”

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Punch Taverns has sold four more managed pubs to Greene King for £5.3m.

Aston Villa lags someway behind Manchester United in Deloitte’s Annual Review of Football Finance, with United’s table-topping revenues of £278.5m outstripping the Villa’s eighth-placed £84.3m. In this week’s Talking Point blog, Will Ventham, associate director at CB Richard Ellis in Birmingham, investigates whether a comparison can be drawn between the finances of the two footballing giants and the property markets in their respective cities. To read more from Will, click here.

The Birmingham office of Drivers Jonas Deloitte has relocated to Four Brindleyplace.

3Si, the Newcastle-under-Lyme-based IT software company, has moved premises to a new 2,000 sq ft facility in Knutton after securing funding from NatWest.

Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets has appointed David Brunton as its new business development director for the West Midlands. Brunton has been working for Lloyds TSB for the last 11 years, including a number of years working in corporate finance in Atlanta. He takes over from Wesley Haughton who has been promoted to regional business development director for the bank, covering the Midlands, Wales, south west and the east.