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Top story
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Patten warns against protectionism
The former governor of Hong Kong and self-proclaimed "liberal internationalist" Chris Patten yesterday raised concerns over a return to protectionism in global trade as a result of the current financial crisis. Speaking at the Liverpool Summit, Patten said: "We have to accept better regulation of the banking and insurance industries and the technology that has driven all the speculation. But we risk losing the good sides of globalisation, including free trade, if we go back to the protectionism of trade between countries." The event concludes today with presentations from Tesco chief Sir Terry Leahy and former UN secretary general Kofi Annan.
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Deals
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Digital start-up in talks after business angels event
The team behind ScreenReach, a Liverpool-based digital communication software start-up, is in talks with investors to receive expansion capital for the business. Paul Rawlings pitched the business idea at a Northwest Business Angels/Dreamcatchers event in Liverpool last month and has since received three expressions of interest. The company has produced software that can be downloaded and used to tailor screen content to the user at any given time, and which is designed to be used in retail and other commercial environments. The âsoftware as a service' sector, where companies can lease software from a host rather than pay a one-off license fee, is touted to be a hot growth sector in the IT industry. 
MBO for baking team
Cleanbake, a Skelmersdale company that cleans and refurbishes baking pans, trays and racks for supermarkets, bakeries and plant bakeries, has undergone a management buyout led by father and son Derrick and Shaun Hughes. Derrick takes the role of chairman of the company, having set the business up 18 years ago in Preston, and Shaun joins as operations director after previously working for 11 years with BAE Systems. The deal was backed with a £2m funding package from The Co-operative Bank.
Founder gives Eatonfield a lifeline
Quoted property developer Eatonfield is set to receive a £750,000 loan from its founder and chief executive, Rob Lloyd, and his Cheshire racing yard business, Rob Lloyd Racing, as the group struggles with tough conditions in the debt markets. The North Wales-headquartered group, which has borrowings of £33.5m and assets worth £53m, has been unable to raise further finance against the value of its former Corus site in Workington, Cumbria, which means available cash is less than expected. The group's overdraft facility has been extended for a further 12 months and Lloyd has increased his personal guarantee of the group's debt to £1m, for which he will receive a fee of £95,000. The loan will be made in return for a profit-sharing arrangement on the Corus site and another in Lanarkshire, both of which are expected to obtain planning permission on schedule.
Cattles seeks a home for invoice finance team
Financial services group Cattles is considering selling its business finance division, Cattles Invoice Finance, which has its longest established office in Manchester and another in Liverpool. A statement from the group said that it wishes to focus on its main area of business, consumer finance. The division saw a fall in pre-tax profits in the six months to the end of June from £1.4m in the first half of 2007 down to £1m this year, largely due to an increased loan loss charge. Net income grew 15.8 per cent and the value of invoices factored increased by 8.2 per cent to £480.6m. No sale has yet been agreed and Cattles said: "This development is an exciting opportunity for Cattles Invoice Finance and its management team for further growth under a new parent company."
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Business
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Liverpool One puts life back into the city
At the grand opening of the Liverpool One retail scheme last night developer Grosvenor celebrated having achieved its target of opening the £1bn development during Capital of Culture year. John Irvine, executive director for development outside of London, said: "One councillor told me that we have managed to do in four years what most cities take 40 years to do and have put back half of Liverpool city centre." Council leader Warren Bradley said that while people used to leave the city in search of something better, today "it's because of people like Grosvenor that my two children can grow up proud of their city and no longer feel they have to leave to become successful".
Eagle-I cherry picked
Runcorn-based Eagle-I, a developer of vehicle tracking and communication systems, has been awarded a £4.5m contract by emergency insurance supplier Homeserve. The four-year deal will see the business supply its Monitor3 fleet management system, expected to cut Homeserve's fuel bills by 10 per cent and reduce CO2 emissions by around 30,000 tonnes. The two companies have an existing relationship, having worked together for the last two years.
City region grows, but more to follow
The Mersey Partnership's (TMP) sixth annual Merseyside Economic Review, to be published tomorrow, reveals a decade of business growth and increased signs of future prosperity for the city region. The review shows growth in sectors such as construction and leisure above the national average. But most of the statistics relate to 2005/06 and TMP chief executive Lorraine Rogers said: "The impact of developments and major private sector investments like Liverpool One should emerge in future. Business density has increased, but there is still a significant gap between that in Merseyside and in the UK as a whole."
Tough times for manufacturers
The region's manufacturers are facing the toughest operating conditions in nearly two decades, according to the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply's report for September. The Purchasing Managers' Index for the UK plunged to a record low of 41 last month, as levels of output, new orders and employment all contracted at the fastest rates in the 17-year history of the series. Professor Peter Spencer, chief economic adviser to the Ernst & Young ITEM Club, said: "With new orders falling, output in the coming months is unlikely to recover."
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Property
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Mersey Gateway called in for inquiry
Plans for the £430m Mersey Gateway bridge, which would span the River Mersey between Runcorn and Widnes, have been called in for a public inquiry by the Department of Transport. Halton Borough Council, which submitted plans for the bridge in early 2008 after several years in development, welcomed the announcement saying it would allow everyone with an interest to give their opinion.
Mann Island developer to be renamed
HBG Construction, the developer behind Liverpool's Mann Island scheme, is to be renamed from Monday. The business will be known as BAM Construction, named after its parent company, Royal BAM Group. Steve Byrne, director of BAM Construction North West, said the rebrand would make the business more memorable for customers and emphasised that it was part of a "successful European enterprise". In addition to the Mann Island development, the company is set to start work on phase five of Liverpool Community College and the construction of new offices for Alliance & Leicester in Bootle.
Green energy a priority
Following the introduction of Energy Performance Certificates yesterday, which became compulsory for all buildings sold or rented, property developer Priority Sites has announced it has achieved A grades for energy performance on a number of new business units across Merseyside. Its Brookfield Business Park development near Aintree and Vesty Business Park in Bootle were two that achieved an A grade, with the Vesty site recording a carbon negative score of -74.
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