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Top story
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Man City: Arabs move in
Manchester City FC has confirmed it has signed the first stage of a deal with the Abu Dhabi United Group Investment and Development (ADUG) with regards to investing in the Premier League club. Reports this morning claimed that a deal had been agreed late last night with current owner Dr Thaksin Shinawatra. If the deal is completed, ADUG will be represented on the City board by Hydra Properties chief executive Dr Sulaiman Al Fahim, who said: "This is a great event for both the club and Abu Dhabi. Our goal is very simple - to make Manchester City the biggest club in the Premier League, and to begin with, to finish in the top four this season."
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Deals
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Warwick in £129m club-backed MBO
Warwick International, the North Wales-based global chemicals group, has undergone a £129m management buyout lead by Close Brothers Private Equity (CPBE) and funded by a banking club led by The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). The management team, led by chief executive Bob Ellis, has acquired the business from US parent company Sequa Corporation. CBPE invested £55m alongside £85m of senior debt, mezzanine and working capital facilities from a club including RBS, Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets. The £180m-turnover business is looking for expansion through organic growth and bolt-on acquisitions.
HSBC launches ABL team
Asset-based lending (ABL) always seems to thrive in economically troubled times and HSBC Commercial Bank has today launched a specialist ABL team. The division - led by new appointment Graham Moffitt and supported by Barry Lee as ABL corporate development manager for the north - will allow customers with a turnover above £25m to raise finance on the strength of balance sheets and stock to finance transactions, provide working capital and fund restructuring. The team forms part of the recently restructured HSBC Invoice Finance business.
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Business
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Network Rail cautious on Lancashire
The rail improvements necessary to boost Blackburn's prospects as a business location look in danger following publication of Network Rail's Lancashire and Cumbria Rail Utilisation Strategy. No track improvements will be carried out between Blackburn and Manchester during the 2009 to 2014 financial period, although services will be extended to Clitheroe. Increased frequency and capacity will depend on further funding. Burnley, meanwhile, will have to wait until 2014 at least to get a direct service to Manchester.
TIF D-Day confirmed for 11 December
The referenda to decide whether or not the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities will continue with its Transport Innovation Fund bid will be held on 11 December. If accepted, the proposals will bring investment of £3bn in public transport, although opposition groups have led a strident campaign against the attendant congestion charging scheme.
New find for Epistem
A North West research company has found a way to ease the harsh effects of chemotherapy treatment. Manchester-based Epistem and global pharmaceutical company Rottapharm|Madaus have developed a new chemical entity, CR 3294, to reduce the severity of side effects including diarrhoea, inflammatory bowel disease and intestinal mucositis. The chemical is under active development and phase one studies are planned for the first quarter of 2009.
New FD for API
Stockport-based packing materials company API Group has announced the appointment of Christopher Smith as its new group finance director. Smith is a charted accountant with 17 years' industrial experience with Courtaulds and latterly with Scapa, a manufacturer of adhesive tapes and films. At Scapa, he was finance and IT director for Europe and Asia.
Size is everything as manufacturers feel the pinch
Despite a 12th consecutive quarter of growth, many manufacturers are facing an uncertain future, with new orders at a three-year low and profit margins deteriorating, according to a survey by EEF and accountancy firm Grant Thornton. Sectors such as defence and aerospace remain strong for the North West, which is still reporting positive orders, and larger companies with cash on the books are well placed. Ian Wilson, partner at Grant Thornton in Manchester, told Insider: “Everyone is focused on liquidity and staying in business, making sure there is enough cash on the balance sheet. Having been through a 15-year growth phase, a lot of corporates have cash on the balance sheet. Smaller companies are going to suffer.”
Strong growth for Brammer
Brammer, the Wythenshawe-headquartered global technical distributor, has announced revenue growth of 33 per cent in the six months to the end of June thanks to organic growth, acquisitions and exchange gains. Operating profit before amortisation over the same period is up 57 per cent to £14.4m and chairman David Dunn said: "Whilst the overall business environment at present is challenging we believe Brammer is well positioned with a strong and robust strategy in a large and diverse market place." In May Brammer acquired Italian industrial services business Tecnoforniture for £8.6m and in April bought Midlands-based CBS Rotary Power Motion.
Growth for software business K3
In proof that there's still money to be made, particularly in the knowledge economy, K3 Business Technology, which supplies Microsoft-based business solutions for retail, manufacturing and distribution supply chains, has reported revenue up 26 per cent to £17.1m in the first half of 2008 and adjusted profit from operations up 82 per cent to £2.32m. The Colne-based company had successfully integrated three acquisitions over the last 18 months that have boosted its core product offering, market knowledge and customer base.
Strategic feels the credit crunch
Strategic Retail, the AIM-quoted company set up in 2003 to acquire retail businesses, has posted a net loss of £145,000 in the year to 1 March, compared with a profit of £194,000 in the year to 24 February 2007. Manchester-based Strategic, of which Zeus Capital founder Ian Currie is chairman, has experienced a difficult year in the home decorating and furnishing sectors as consumer spending falls. Closure of some Fads and Leveys stores has helped reduce operating losses and allow some growth and, of the mainly Scotland-based Texstyle World business, Currie said: "We feel it is not presently appropriate to launch new stores, with their obvious drain on working capital, whilst the economy is so close to recession."
Down on the IT Farm
A company at Manchester Science Park is launching a service for small businesses without the time, skills or inclination to manage their own IT. IT Farm offers a basic IT package, allowing a business to use email, file sharing, data back-up and full use of most Windows programmes from any computer in the world via the IT Farm website. The company promises an alternative to the cost of setting up networks and licensing software. It also offers to host websites and create email addresses for small businesses.
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Property
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So Blackpool help me out
The executive of Blackpool council will be asked on Wednesday to set aside £723,000 from the council's capital budget for 2009 to 2010 towards a £2.5m plan to improve housing along the town's Central Corridor. National regeneration agency English Partnerships is contributing £643,000, with £1.1m coming from the council's capital receipts to the project, which will involve the demolition of six industrial units on Baron Road as the council looks to improve housing in key gateway areas. St Annes housebuilder Newfield Jones Homes is expected to be named as preferred developer.
Multibuild hits the G-spot
Stockport-based contractor Multibuild has won a £2m contract to fit out a new G-Casino at the City Wharf project in Aberdeen. The 18-week contract will see Multibuild complete the ground floor casino area and the basement staff rooms and administration areas for its client, the Rank Group.
Elliott in the chair at BDP
Gavin Elliott has been appointed as chairman of the Manchester office of BDP, the architecture and masterplanning firm that will this month move its 260 staff in the city from Sunlight House to a new headquarters building at Piccadilly Place. The Manchester studio won 20 awards in 2007 and in the last financial year contributed £17.8m to a group turnover of £84.2m.
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Events
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Dates for your diary this week
You can tell it’s September because the events diary is packed again. This week’s events include: The Energy Roadshow 2008 from UK Trade & Investment at the Reebok Stadium tomorrow, an opportunity for energy businesses to increase their export potential; and Thursday sees the Cumbria Green Business Forum hosting a Greening Business event at Staveley Mill Yard from 5pm to help you find ways to “green your business”. Or, for a change of pace, The Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society is hosting a lecture by former PM’s wife Cherie Blair at MMU Business School on Thursday evening entitled: “Why women’s rights matter – a better world for all.”
Second year for top brands survey
Law firm Hill Dickinson's second annual Top 100 North West Brands survey goes live today, with 10,000 businesses able to access the survey via Facebook. The awards cover 14 areas including the new most ethical/CSR-focused brand and best brand marketing categories. The awards will name the overall Top North West Brand - a title claimed by Urban Splash last year. The survey is being undertaken in association with the CBI North West and the Chartered Institute of Marketing North West and Wales.
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