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Top story
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Funding slice for Mellors
Southport bakery Mellors has secured a £500,000 working capital facility from RBS Invoice Finance to help it meet growing demand. The business, which was established in 1840 by Amelia Jane Mellor, specialises in the use of traditional recipes to supply a range of crafted bakery products to national supermarket chains. The company is owned and managed by husband and wife team Chris and Dawn McLintic, who bought the business in 2004. They have subsequently relocated to a new manufacturing facility in Southport and have grown turnover to £3.4m. Chris Mclintic said: "The business has performed well during the last few years as we have continued to grow and secure more orders from new and existing clients. As we take on more work it is essential to have the necessary funding structure in place to cover the cost of our overheads. This facility is a good solution and will support our future growth plans."
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Deals
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Cash injection for printers
Redwood Press, a Liverpool-based print start-up, has secured a £700,000 financing package that includes the directors' own investment, a £100,000 loan from Alliance Fund Managers' MSIF Small Firms Funds and debt from The Co-operative Bank. The company, which employs 15 people, has been set up by local couple Jonathan Aindow and Claire Lewins to provide a range of print services using ethically sourced paper and materials. It plans to expand a network of sales offices around the country but will keep production in Aintree to maintain competitive pricing. 
Elysian looks north to compete
Fledgling private equity outfit Elysian Capital has stormed into the northern market following the appointment of Manchester heavyweight Phil Greves to run its regional office out of Leeds. Elysian, which also has an office in London, made its first investment in March 2008 and is planning to hit the region hard. Chief executive Ken Terry told Insider: “There is increasing regional competition in the lower mid-market but there are fewer operators chasing these deals compared with the upper end, and it is a lot easier to double the size of a company in this space.” Greves, who will take up the position of investment director and partner, has moved from 3i where he was a director in the firm’s European buyout business.
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Business
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Hope hosts major symposium
Liverpool Hope University is hosting next week's European Modelling Symposium 2008. The international conference will provide an opportunity to share and exchange ideas about research, technologies and applications of computational modelling and simulation and attracts academics, professionals and industrial and business stakeholders. Keynote speakers include Professor Roy Crosbie of the McLeod Institute of Simulation Sciences, California State University, and Professor Eduard Babulak from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Canada.
Doherty makes legal move
Bill Doherty, director of commercial banking in Liverpool for The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), is leaving the bank after 34 years to join law firm Hill Dickinson as business development and marketing director. He will lead a 21-strong team from the firm's Liverpool headquarters at St Paul's Square. Doherty said: "I'll be using the business development experience gained at RBS to help expand and deepen Hill Dickinson's client base and promote continuing growth. I'm leaving one great business for another one."
Money from new power
As the world tunes in to the importance of developing alternative energy sources, Renewable Energy, the Isle of Man-registered AIM company that invests in and operates renewable energy technologies, has reported a pre-tax profit of £1.1m for the first half of the year as revenues soared by 149 per cent to £4.6m. The company is moving towards commercialisation of CETO, its proprietary wave energy technology. Chief executive Mike Proffitt said: "We have created a platform for the growth of our asset portfolio, both in terms of our financial and human resources. There is growing interest in sound renewable energy technologies and we are well positioned to take advantage of the increasing opportunities."
Neteller posts profit
Isle of Man-based global online payments business Neteller has posted interim pre-tax profits of £678,000 following a £13.2m loss in the same period in 2007. The company says it is now concentrating on extending product offerings in European and Asia-Pacific markets after withdrawing from the US and Canada. Chief executive Ron Martin said: "We have made significant steps in repositioning our business and growth in our key markets remains encouraging. We have a number of significant developments targeted for launch in the second half of 2008."
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Property
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Art to breathe new life into Martins Bank
As the Grade-II listed banking hall at Martins Bank Building on Water Street awaits a new tenant, the famous space is set to play host to one of the largest and most significant artworks during the Liverpool Biennial 2008. The 10ft-high artworks by Liverpool artist Terry Duffy will be open to the public from 20 September to 30 October. On display will also be the proposals to transform the banking hall into office accommodation, offering up to 40,000 sq ft for a range of uses including a company headquarters or a trophy hotel/leisure operator. The premises are being offered to let by current leaseholder Barclays.
Nobles builds on new contracts
Liverpool-based building company Nobles Construction says that it remains on target to reach a £20m turnover by the end of the year, having won £5m worth of new tenders. The company has just completed four contracts totalling almost £3m, which led to Nobles being shortlisted for two new tenders with a combined value of £5m. Recent contracts have included the £1.5m Liverpool Football Club Megastore at Liverpool One as well as a £700,000 children's centre at St Margaret Mary's school in Knowsley.
EP sets up brownfield forum
English Partnerships is setting up a series of seminars to encourage the development of brownfield sites in the North West. The national regeneration agency will head the North West Brownfield Regeneration Forum, which will also include Envirolink Northwest, Manchester City Council, Arup, Macclesfield Borough Council and the National Housebuilding Council. Topics that will be considered include site investigation, risk assessment and remediation, waste, contaminated land and stakeholder involvement.
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