GE Capital Real Estate has let a 244,434 sq ft industrial unit at Denby Hall Business Park to Techno Cargo Logistics, which is the biggest shed letting in Derbyshire this year. Techno Cargo has signed up for a 15-year lease at the Denby P242 development, originally a joint venture between Sladen Estates and Peveril Securities, but now part of GE Real Estates Great Space portfolio. Derby agent Innes England advised GE Capital Real Estate alongside Savills, M3 and NRS. Nick Hosking of Innes England said: “Industrial take up locally since the turn of the year has far exceeded expectations and I am pleased to report that we have strong interest in the two remaining plots at Denby Hall, which are capable of accommodating a further two warehouses of 80,000 sq ft and 120,000 sq ft”.

Belper-based Abru, which supplies products to wholesalers and retailers, including B&Q, Homebase, Argos and Wilkinsons, has been sold by its German owner Vaillant Group to Werner, the world’s leading ladder manufacturer, based in Pennsylvania, USA. Vaillant has been looking to dispose of Abru since 2000 when it acquired the company as part of another deal, but has been unable to attract a suitable price. For Insider comment click here.

Staffline, the Nottingham recruitment agency, this morning announced that following a number of new business wins and the impact of recent acquisitions, together with increased demand from existing clients, it now expects earnings for both the first half and full financial year to be “significantly ahead of current expectations.” Andy Hogarth, chairman and chief executive, said: “Our strong trading performance provides us with the confidence to continue to actively seek acquisition opportunities to invest further in our expansion.”

RSM Tenon’s head of tax Craig Simpson considers the likely tax changes at the emergency budget – and how they could affect Midlands businesses.

Seventeen Midlands companies have made it onto this year’s influential Sunday Times Deloitte Top Track 100, to be published for the ninth time this weekend. The table ranks British companies by latest available sales figures. The highest-placed Midlands company is Birmingham-based IT supplier SCH Group. The company is followed by Wilkinson; JCB; Gala Coral; LINPAC, Bowmer & Kirkland; Phones 4U; AF Blakemore & Son; Doncasters; Healthcare at Home; Samworth Brothers; Virgin Trains; City Electrical Factors; Lister Group; Bloor Holdings; 2 Sisters Good Group; and Greehaus Group.

Macildowie, the Midlands financial and HR recruitment specialist, will launch a dedicated Procurement and Supply Chain division. The company, which counts E.on, Boots and Next among its clients, will now be recruiting professionals for procurement and supply chain positions with public sector and blue chip clients. The division will operate across offices in Leicester, Nottingham, Derby and Northampton and will be led in the south Midlands by consultant Michael Scott, and in the north Midlands by consultants Claire Fletcher and Ben Radford.

Nigel Pickard, head of tax at Deloitte in Birmingham, thinks next week’s emergency budget is likely to focus on five key areas – capital gains tax, personal allowances and National Insurance contributions, VAT, pensions and corporation tax reform. He told Insider: “Most of the focus has been on the increase in capital gains taxation, with ‘generous exemptions for entrepreneurial activities’. We hope that shares owned by employees and unquoted shares in trading companies will benefit from lower rates. We also hope to see relief for the effects of inflation, either through indexation, or through taper relief.”

Leicester-based temporary structures specialist Neptunus is looking forward to an eventful summer with a number of prestigious projects in the pipeline. Following a successful first 12 months trading in the UK, Neptunus will supply structures for a host of high-profile events this summer including the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, Masterpiece Fair, Chelsea and the Women’s Hockey Championships in Nottingham.

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”We are vehemently committed to Masshouse and the wider Eastside area being a regeneration success and we have been working with various parties for several years to ensure this is a reality.” That was the message from Nick Payne, chairman of Masshouse Developments, a joint venture between developer Nikal and RBS Property Ventures, and developer of Masshouse, as termination of the £94m Magistrates Court on Birmingham’s Eastside was confirmed. The building on Moor Street Queensway was to replace the outdated Victoria Law Court.

Eight new developments under construction in Birmingham city centre this year is a rise from six last year, reports Drivers Jonas Deloitte in the annual Birmingham Crane Survey. Similar to 2008-9, development activity in the city remains diverse with only one new office scheme, the 196,000 sq ft scheme being constructed by Thomas Vale at Woodcock Street in Aston. Other new starts include three residential schemes, one student accommodation scheme, one retail-led mixed-use project, a large public sector development (Library of Birmingham) and the redevelopment of Edgbaston Cricket Ground.

Liam Hawes has been appointed as a senior surveyor at Lambert Smith Hampton’s Nottingham office, specialising in day-to-day property management, including rent collection, lease administration, facilities and service charge management, for clients owning multi-property portfolios. He joins from Hodgson Elkington in Lincoln, where he worked for five years.