|
|
| Home | Products & Services | Shop | Subscriptions |
A new biomedical research unit is to be set up in Liverpool after the University of Liverpool and the Royal Liverpool University Hospital were awarded £5m of funding. The National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Unit will be based at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital and specialise in pancreatic digestive diseases. Robert Sutton, professor of surgery at the university and consultant surgeon at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, said the award provides "a vital new clinical research platform to develop new diagnostics, and most importantly, new treatments". It will be operated by the Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust in partnership with the university. 
Restaurant company serves up "resilient" trading Individual Restaurant Company, owner of the city's Piccolino and Restaurant Bar & Grill, has announced that trading is in line with expectations for the six months to 29 June. Sales, excluding the Bank restaurant disposed of in Aldwych and closed Zinc restaurant in Birmingham, have increased by 21 per cent against the same period last year, mainly driven by the impact of the six new sites opened during 2007. The Manchester-based company also said it is confident that it will achieve seven new restaurant openings for the current year and is optimistic that it can continue its planned expansion during 2009. The business' interim results will be announced on 29 September.
Bankers fail to back Cains Liverpool brewer and pub operator Cains had to suspend trading of its shares on AIM on Friday afternoon as Bank of Scotland finally confirmed that it is not prepared to support the company's funding proposals after advanced negotiations. Last week Cains owners the Dusanj brothers offered to convert £2.56m of loans from last June's £37m takeover of pubs group Honeycombe Leisure into shares. Cains, whose brews have been highly acclaimed by the likes of top beer authority Roger Protz and sell in supermarkets such as Morrison's and Asda, is now set to go to the High Court on 12 August to face a winding-up petition from HM Revenue and Customs over a disputed tax bill if final attempts to win over the bank fail.
Quill heads to innovation centre Integrative software specialist Quill Group is moving its Pinpoint Payroll operations to Liverpool Innovation Park on Edge Lane, where it joins a community of over 40 technology-based businesses. The company has acquired 1,800 sq ft of office space for the next ten years from where its digital products will continue to provide growing businesses with solutions to their payroll needs.
It'll get worse before it gets better As the Insolvency Service last Friday released figures revealing an 11.6 per cent quarterly rise in compulsory liquidations and creditor's voluntary liquidations in England and Wales, corporate advisers in Liverpool were warning companies to act now. Lindsey Cooper, restructuring and recovery partner for the Liverpool office of Baker Tilly, expects company insolvencies to be 20 per cent higher in 2008 than in 2007. "The numbers will continue to rise as companies facing pressure today feed through into the insolvency figures," she said. "The companies feeling real pain are those in the construction, leisure and discretionary spending sectors. But banks today have more sophisticated early-warning systems. This allows more time to explore all the options and allows companies to continue trading."
Revenues at national regeneration agency English Partnerships (EP) are expected to fall by 9 per cent year-on-year as its land sales suffer in the ongoing market downturn. According to reports, the agency is talking to central government about how best to resolve the problem. In the last financial year it made £333m in receipts. As a partner in economic development company Liverpool Vision, EP remains a key player in much of the city’s ongoing regeneration projects, such as the Edge Lane corridor. A spokesman told Insider that the agency remains committed to the major projects already started.
Ribby powers up with £3m investment Lancashire's leisure and conference venue Ribby Hall Village has applied for permission to invest £3m in a new hydro spa as it seeks to make a mark in the luxury break market. Paul Harrison, managing director of Ribby Hall, which is currently spending £1m on refurbishing holiday cottages, said: "Our business and leisure facilities are now well established within this area. Our vision is to continue to develop and improve our facilities and offer a great up to date environment for our clients."
Private equity firm Endless is backing Howard Luft's management team at Lancashire-based Crown Paints in a £70m buyout from Dutch owner Akzo Nobel. Endless will invest in Crown's production facilities and more than 100 Crown Decorating Centre outlets. The group employs 1,500 UK and Ireland staff, with factories in Darwen, Warrington, Hull, Belfast and Dublin. Akzo needs to sell Crown as part of its deal with the European Commission following the £8bn takeover of Dulux maker ICI, completed in February, a deal that gave Akzo control of more than half the UK paint market.
Things are starting to wind down for the summer, but you can always be sure there will be a networking event going on somewhere on a Thursday night. This week sees law firm Hill Dickinson celebrating its shiny offices at Liverpool’s St Paul’s Square with a drinks reception. And the BSB Networking Club is holding its second networking event in Chester with a breakfast at the Green Bough Hotel.
|
Subscribe or Unsubscribe To subscribe or unsubscribe to the eBulletin, click here.
|
| © Copyright 2008 Newsco Insider Limited | Privacy Policy |
|
Newsco Insider Limited - Registered in England and Wales with Number 02709518. Registered Office: Boulton House, 17-21 Chorlton Street, Manchester. M1 3HY |