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Top story
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West Mids companies to take advantage of £112bn green economy
West Midlands businesses “need to wake up to the opportunities of the UK's £112bn green economy” which is set to grow by 25 per cent over the next four years. That’s according to Harry Morrison, a director at the Carbon Trust, who spoke to Insider at the launch of the organisation’s Green Growth campaign in Birmingham. Insider can also unveil Birmingham Chamber of Commerce’s programme to help more than 50 West Midlands businesses ‘go green’ over the next three years.
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Deals
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Techsil swoops for Forspat Industrial
Warwickshire-based distributor Techsil has acquired Fospat Industrial, headquartered in Tamworth. The buyout was supported by Birmingham based M3 Corporate Finance.
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Ragdoll Worldwide 'up for sale'
Ragdoll Worldwide, the joint venture that manages pre-school children’s characters created by Warwickshire-based Ragdoll Productions, including the Teletubbies, In the Night Garden, Brum and Boohbah, could be sold.
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Chapco lights up with fifth acquisition
LAUK Lighting, based in Staffordshire, has been acquired by Leicestershire-headquartered Chapco Group. The deal was backed by private equity investor Next Wave Partners and was advised by Midlands’ law firm Harvey Ingram.
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Property
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Wakemans wins Travelodge contract
Birmingham-based construction company Wakemans has been appointed to work on a £5.5m hotel development in Twickenham. The company will construct a 111-room, ten storey Travelodge hotel.
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Business
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Employment laws to cost West Mids £1.7bn, says chamber
New employment laws due to kick in over the next four years will cost UK businesses a staggering £22.87bn, with West Midlands firms out of pocket to the tune of £1.75bn. That’s according to the Coventry-based British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).
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Auto Windscreens falls into administration
Auto Windscreens, which has a major distributions hub in Birmingham, is facing closure. Administrators from Deloitte have now been appointed to manage the business and property of the windscreen repair company, leaving 1,100 jobs at risk.
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Shakespeare Putsman in promotion drive
Birmingham-based law firm Shakespeare Putsman has made 14 promotions across three of its sites. The promotions, which are the first since the firm’s mergers with Berryman and Needham & James last year, include seven in its Birmingham office.
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Midlands bosses split over royal wedding, says survey
Bosses in the Midlands are less likely to give their staff a day off for the royal wedding than their northern counterparts. According to research from Close Invoice Finance, just 54 per cent of Midlands’ employers plan to close the office on 29 April this year.
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Our Insider Membership Club offers fantastic benefits for anyone doing business in the UK regions. Valuable sales leads, vital information, networking opportunities, competitor analysis and much more. Request your free Membership pack now.
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Community
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Dealmakers Wrap: Taking strong decisions
Ian Howey of Yorkshire Bank, Insider's Midlands Corporate Banker of the Year 2010, says management teams that plan for adversity and tackle difficult decisions head on are those which win the confidence and support of their bank.
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In Focus: A wizard idea?
George Osborne has launched the oddly-named Project Merlin with much fanfare. But, wonders Sam Metcalf, will it be the sprinkling of magic dust the economy needs, or the start of another bad spell?
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