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Top story
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JD stumbles but stays on track
Not even JD Sports Fashion is immune to the current retail squeeze. The Bury-headquartered group this morning released a management statement for the 11 trading weeks since its September interim results, in which it said like-for-like sales in its sports shops are down 1 per cent, although fashion store trading is up 3.3 per cent. The group said the performance was “not unexpected given last year's strong comparatives,” and year-on-year improvements for the 43 weeks of the financial year remain positive with sports stores up 3.6 per cent and fashion up 6.7 per cent. JD expects to meet market expectations when it reports on Christmas trading on 9 January.
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Deals
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Funding for Flame
Flame Upholstery, a Preston-based manufacturer of sofas and sofa beds, has undergone a management buyout from its parent company, Tetrad. Flame, which sells through independent stores and also manufactures own-label furniture for retailers including John Lewis and Furniture Village, is now led by a management team advised by DWF and comprising Janus Cooper and the current managing director of Flame, Mike Featherstone. The deal was backed by The Royal Bank of Scotland. Established almost 40 years ago, Tetrad invented removable, machine-washable sofa covers and employs more than 500 people. Flame, which has a turnover of £6.8m, was set up to market and sell own-label upholstery.
In Focus – a man with two cows
So what now for private equity? How private equity players adapt to a recessionary market is important for the economy in the whole of the North West and the sustainability of Manchester’s role as a key financial centre. In this week’s online deals column, In Focus, Insider editor Michael Taylor examines how private equity and venture capital will operate “in a world without banks”. “Banks are unable to commit, or unable even to club together to provide the debt element. Now more than ever there are plenty of people thinking hard about an investment strategy in a world without banks,” he says. Click here to find out more.
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Business
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Hurst among equals at KPMG
Jonathan Hurst is the new office senior partner at accountancy firm KPMG in Manchester. Hurst has been an audit partner at the firm for 13 years, leading the firm’s relationships with clients such as The Co-operative Group, JD Sports, Pets at Home and Adidas. He said: “It is a privilege to lead one of KPMG’s largest regional offices, employing more than 700 people. We have a superb team in Manchester.” Malcolm Edge will remain as KPMG's chairman in the north, covering Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle and Preston.
Whittaker back in GT hotseat
Not to be outdone, the Manchester office of Grant Thornton has announced that Graeme Whittaker, its managing partner between 1993 and 2007, is to return to head the office after spending a year in London launching the accountancy firm’s national entrepreneurial advisory division. Whittaker believes the region’s entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well: “Manchester will always produce winners. The business community is full of people who are responsive and react in commercially savvy ways to the market.”
Counting the days
Some good news for the travel industry at last, but less festive cheer for regional leisure businesses. UK consumers are continuing to earmark cash for their annual holiday in 2009, at the expense of short breaks and pub and restaurant outings, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). A consumer survey by Mintel, launched in April 2008, indicated more than 1,500 consumers ranked holidays and short breaks as the top two spending priorities for 2008, six places higher than debt repayment. When PwC asked the same question in November, debt repayment had risen to first place, but with large holidays sticking close by in second. Only 1 per cent of consumers say they will prioritise drinking and eating out. PwC head of travel Malcolm Preston said: “It will be a white-knuckle ride for the travel industry as it adapts. Those who are flexible and switch the emphasis from the discretionary short break to the semi-discretionary main holiday will maintain a strong market position.”
Sales up for Travel Counsellors
While other domestic tour operators are bracing themselves for the worst, Bolton-based Travel Counsellors has continued to buck the trend and increased annual sales by 16 per cent for the 12 months to 31 October. The company, which has more than 1,000 home-based agents across eight countries, saw revenue soar to £245m, up from £212m for the same period last year. Combined sales from the company’s international business have grown by 125 per cent to £27m and the business estimates that overseas expansion should add a further £100m in sales over the next two to three years.
UCLan to lead nuclear initiative
The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) has been tasked with leading the UK’s Nuclear University Enterprise Network (UEN), which will aim to provide training, advice and encouragement for students looking to work in the nuclear sector. The scheme, in partnership with nuclear giant Westinghouse UK and the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), is one of a number of UENs launched by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform to help graduates acquire the specialist skills sought by industry. Mike Tynan, chief executive of Westinghouse UK, said: “By partnering UCLan and the NWDA I am confident we can develop a nuclear skills blueprint that will serve employers and employees, and the needs of the global nuclear industry.”
Styles & Wood does the job for Debenhams
Styles & Wood Storefit, the shop-fitting arm of the eponymously named Altrincham-based retail property services group, has completed two projects for Debenhams, in Wrexham and Great Yarmouth. The Wrexham store is an anchor unit in the £100m Eagle's Meadow shopping and leisure development, with the retail space comprising approximately 80,000 sq ft. The Great Yarmouth store is 30,000 sq ft.
Showing Off announces growth plans
Showing Off Academy, the Cumbrian business training body set up by Joanne Allday, is to launch further programmes in Cumbria, North Lancashire and the North East, where it plans to help 36 businesses grow. The organisation runs 12-month training programmes covering financial management and planning, sales, marketing, using technology to generate income, customer retention and time management. For £199 a month trainees receive 12 days training, four masterclasses with business speakers and four conference calls.
Carrot uproots to Wilmslow
Specialist recruitment consultancy Carrot Pharma Recruitment has outgrown its office in Didsbury and is moving to Wilmslow. The new office suite is three times the size of its current office and will allow the firm to grow over the next five years. The agency was started three years ago by Martin and Debbie Anderson to focus on recruitment in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and healthcare industries.
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Property
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Stockport scheme wins consent
Planning permission has been granted for a 25,000 sq ft mixed-use scheme in Stockport. Consulting engineer Hilson Moran and Altrincham architect Pozzoni have worked on the brief for Jersey developer Corovest and delivered a proposal that includes a hotel, offices and residential accommodation around a central courtyard at the junction of Heaton Lane and King Street West, bordered by the River Mersey and Stockport Viaduct.
Orbit lets Heathrow space
Orbit Developments, part of the Alderley Edge-based Emerson Group, has let 13,395 sq ft to US-headquartered IT group Patni Computer Systems for its new European headquarters at Strata House near Heathrow Airport.
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