Derby aerospace giant Rolls-Royce has won a share of an order from Jetstar Airways for V2500 engines for up to 90 aircraft in the Airbus A320 family. The order is worth up to $1.2bn to Rolls-Royce if all options are exercised. Jetstar, a wholly owned subsidiary of Qantas Airways, has selected the engine for a new fleet of 50 aircraft, with options and purchase rights on 40 more. The aircraft will be distributed among the Jetstar Group fleet, including low-cost carriers Jetstar Asia, ValuAir of Singapore and Jetstar Pacific, Vietnam’s second-largest domestic carrier. The contract includes a long-term engine service agreement for these aircraft, as well as engines installed on 40 aircraft already operated by the three Jetstar Group airline brand businesses. The V2500 is produced by the International Aero Engines consortium, in which Rolls-Royce is a senior shareholder.

One of the UK’s largest suppliers of natural stone has undergone a management buyout. Chesterfield’s Realstone Group is one of the largest suppliers, processors and quarriers of natural stone in the UK. It has three production sites, while sister company Blockstone operates eight quarries. The management team of Iain Kennedy, Steve Wright, Andrew Gregory, John Thompson, Paul Bailey and John Nolan bought the company after securing a structured funding package put together by Matthew Chenery at Barclays Bank. Castle Square Corporate Finance acted as lead advisers on the transaction, with legal services provided by Michelle Hayward and her team from Wake Smith solicitors. For Insider comment, click here.

Brewer and pub operator Marston’s, based in Wolverhampton, has reported “encouraging” trading for the 16-week period to 23 January 2010. Like-for-like sales in the managed pub division were 1.5 per cent ahead of 2008, with “robust” trading over the festive period. At the Marston’s Beer Company, premium cask ale volumes increased by 1 per cent, while premium bottled ale volumes shot up by 16 per cent. Marston’s will open 15 food-led managed pubs this year as part of a plan to open 60 pubs over three years; four have already opened, and work is due to start on another three before Easter.

Bridgehouse Capital, the boutique investment company run by Birmingham entrepreneur Andy Ruhan, is one of three private investors behind pub management operator Urban & County Leisure’s (UCL) multimillion-pound expansion plans. Birmingham-based UCL has now added a Warwickshire pub to its portfolio as part of its £10m roll-out campaign. The company, run by entrepreneur Ross Sanders, is to invest £850,000 in refurbishing the Mother Huff Cap Inn near Alcester. It takes the number of pubs it owns up to 14. Earlier this month, UCL confirmed that it will be rolling out its successful “Pub Blueprint”, with a further 15 new openings planned for the next two years.

Leicester’s Shoe Zone Group has reported record results for 2009. In December, like-for-like sales surged by 27 per cent in the five weeks to 2 January; full-year like-for-like sales were up 10.9 per cent. The company opened 39 new Shoe Zone stores during 2009 and another 42 were refitted. This year, it plans to open another 15 new stores and carry out refits at a further 85 stores.

Taking social enterprise to the next level could create hundreds of jobs in the West Midlands over the next few years and have a major impact on how we run our public services, Social Enterprise West Midlands has claimed. Kevin Maton, network director, made the prediction during the launch of ‘The Time is Now’ - the new vision and prospectus for the sector, which calls for greater understanding, innovation and support. It is backed by Advantage West Midlands. The launch comes on the back of latest statistics that show there are currently more than 157,000 people employed in 5,500 social enterprises in the West Midlands, generating in excess of £5.7bn in the process.

A specialist fund to help manufacturers emerge from the downturn has helped a Redditch-based pressworker win new business. AE Oscroft, which employs 47 people at its Park Farm site, has been able to re-start production of internationally acclaimed Weller Wheels, with many orders already placed from the autosport and specialist vehicle markets. The £15,000 grant from the Manufacturing Advisory Service-backed Automotive Response Programme (ARP) gave the company the necessary capital to set up tooling and to complete a knowledge transfer programme; founder Les Weller has trained three people in the art of making low-volume steel wheels.

Birmingham digital media agency Gas Street Works is launching its self-developed file-sharing application, ReviewSpace, to the creative sector later this month. The firm’s iMedia team developed the application over the past 12 months, creating a product that allows users to collaborate on cross-platform digital projects, enabling agencies and clients to share large media files including images, sound and video, regardless of their individual software capabilities. Initially, it was designed to overcome issues with the sending and opening of large files by clients with limited IT infrastructure. ReviewSpace also enables both the creator and client to comment on projects as they develop.

Worcestershire IT firm Encription has become one of fewer than 30 companies worldwide eligible to provide IT health checks for UK government departments at the highest possible level. The company recently gained CHECK’s Green Light status, qualifying it to carry out work on systems processing protectively marked information up to and including that deemed “confidential” and in some cases “secret”. It achieved this after co-director, Campbell Murray, successfully completed a rigorous CHECK services assault course designed to assess IT security consultants against a skill-set of practical penetration testing. CHECK was developed on behalf of the Communications-Electronics Security Group (part of GCHQ).

A hamper gift company celebrating 25 years in business has launched new services on its website, thanks to a £7,600 iNet grant from the Food and Drink Innovation Network. Lincolnshire’s Hay Hampers has used the Innovation Support Grant (ISG) to develop its website and introduce a system that automatically alerts customers when a special occasion is coming up.

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Some 300 homes will be built on the site of the former North Priory estate in Dudley following a deal between a consortium of regeneration specialists, acted on by Birmingham law firm HBJ Gateley Wareing. Keepmoat Homes is working in partnership with Bromford Housing Group and Dudley Council to deliver a mix of new homes on the 20-acre site. The development will serve as an important gateway to the centre of Dudley from the north and provide much-needed affordable housing for the town.

A Carillion-led joint venture has been selected as the preferred bidder for the £370m Wolverhampton Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme. The news means that Carillion has now secured or been appointed as the preferred bidder for BSF contracts worth approximately £1.7bn. Working with Wolverhampton City Council and BSF Investments LLP, the company will deliver 26 schools over the next four years.

Rabjohns, the Worcester-based accountancy firm, has promoted three members of staff. The trio promoted are Zoe Jones, Ally McLaughlin and Kate Hall. Jones, who has been with the firm for six years, becomes audit manager for all clients. Hall becomes assistant audit manager, and McLaughlin, who joined Rabjohns three years ago, has been promoted to tax and accounts manager.

East Midlands commercial property consultancy Innes England has appointed Mike Thorne as associate director to launch and head a new building surveying services team. In his role, based in Nottingham, Thorne will recruit and manage the new department and will also be responsible for the strategic planning and development of Innes England’s building surveying offering across the East Midlands.