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Top story
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Give hope a chance, say Insider’s 42s
There were festive messages of hope for the business community last night at Insider’s final event of 2008 for the 42 under 42 fellowship. Speaking at Hill Dickinson’s new St Paul’s Square offices in Liverpool, Martyn Best, director of Paver Smith and a former member of the 42 under 42, said that his wish for Christmas was for hope and prosperity for business, professionals and the region, and the ability to overcome negative perceptions. “We’ve all had a tough year,” he said. “Next year is going to be equally tough and challenging. It vital that we get communication right – perception is reality. If you act like you’re doomed, you are doomed. Let’s face the challenges with hope. Give hope a chance.” Best was joined by Abi Humayun of Rapport Events, one of this year’s class of 42, who also wished for better communication between businesses and their staff and customers. Meanwhile, Hill Dickinson’s Liverpool partner Glyn Dale-Jones said that his Christmas wish was for "the banks to get their arses into gear”. The 42 under 42 was sponsored by Grant Thornton, Hill Dickinson and UBS.
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Deals
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The last page for Folio
Hotel operator Folio, which has been developing a hotel in Liverpool, has been placed into administration with MCR. The £70m-turnover company, which also operates the Etrop Grange at Manchester Airport, the Best Western Princess on Portland in Manchester city centre and the Chimney House in Sandbach, started developing a 36-room town house hotel in a former Grade II-listed bank in the centre of Liverpool. The Heywoods Building on Brunswick Street, is being developed into a four-star hotel at a cost of £3.5m. MCR partner Paul Clark said: “The group has been in the middle of an expensive and comprehensive refurbishment project and has also suffered from rentals that were fixed at the height of the market. Together with the current economic climate, this has exacerbated cashflow demands.”
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Business
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Bank of England cuts rates to 2 per cent
The Bank of England has cut interest rates by another one percentage point to 2 per cent, the lowest level in more than half a century. There were calls yesterday for an even greater cut, to 1.5 per cent. After today's announcement Graeme Leach, chief economist at the IoD, said: “The MPC decision is bold but necessary. We can expect further rate reductions early in 2009 but then the MPC will have exhausted its interest rate armoury.” Pat Loftus, practice senior partner at Deloitte in the North West, said: “Although it is still a difficult time for many businesses, banks are being subjected to government pressure and are being encouraged to pass on the reductions. That said, I still think we need further interest rate cuts in 2009.” 
Relocation for Thermo Fisher
Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Runcorn operation is to become the first business to be relocated by the Mersey Gateway Project. The company is investing in a new global centre of excellence in Runcorn to support its global growth plans, starting with the relocation of its existing anatomical pathology and chromatography operations. The centre will be developed through 2009 to 2012. The Mersey Gateway team are acquiring the company’s existing premises on the Astmoor Industrial Estate as part of a land acquisition strategy along the proposed route for the new bridge.
Procurement campaign backed by public sector
A campaign launched by lobby group Downtown Liverpool in Business (DLIB) to encourage the public sector to review procurement processes and make it easier for local companies to tender and win work with public agencies has been backed by two leading public sector figures in the region. The Northwest Regional Development Agency’s chief executive Steven Broomhead and the chief executive of Liverpool Vision Jim Gill have thrown their weight behind the Liverpool Local initiative. DLIB’s chairman Frank McKenna said: “We are urging local authorities, health organisations and housing associations to work with us in adopting practices that provide small businesses with best value and Liverpool firms with a level playing field.”
The right prescription
Former pharmacist Richard Hough has joined the commercial team at Brabners Chaffe Street in Liverpool to help expand the firm’s work in the healthcare sector, specifically with community pharmacy groups across the UK. Hough, who qualified as one of the UK’s youngest pharmacists in 1990, will advise pharmacy owners on a range of issues from acquisitions and disposals to supplier contracts and property.
ACF relocates aftersales department
ACF Car Finance, a provider of car credit and loans, has relocated its aftersales department from Walsall in the West Midlands to its head office in Chester. The company said the move was a key strategic decision to help it improve customer service and enable it to authorise work more quickly. ACF confirmed that none of its 140 staff would lose their jobs as a result of the relocation.
Call for manufacturing businesses
The sector may be experiencing the worst of the economic downturn, but North West manufacturing companies are being urged to enter the Manufacturing Excellence Awards 2009 to demonstrate the quality that still exists in the region. The awards, organised by the BERR Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, will take place in June and are open to businesses of all sizes. Adam Buckley of MAS said: “By entering, each business will receive excellent feedback on how they are performing against the best in their sector and they will win plenty of customer and peer-recognised kudos if they go on to win an award.”
Fee income continues to slow
Fee income in the UK’s 100 largest law firms increased by an average of 5.8 per cent in the second financial quarter compared with the same period last year, although the rise is the slowest recorded by Deloitte’s Quarterly Legal Sector Survey and is the second successive quarter of slowing growth. But analysts said the rise reflected the international reach of the firms and the strength of both the euro and dollar. “We are now seeing signs of the economic downturn affecting activity levels in the legal industry,” said Heather Crosby, head of Deloitte’s Professional Practices Group in the region. “While some firms are continuing to perform, others are suffering a significant hit on their revenue growth because of the slowdown.”
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Property
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Splash plays happy families
Urban Splash has let a unit at the Matchworks to Five Children & Families Trust. The charity, which provides support for the development of children and families in Speke, has confirmed a six-year lease on a 3,513 sq ft office unit in the building, refurbished by Urban Splash early in 2007. Lucy Parkes from the organisation said: “It was important that we based ourselves in close reach of our local community and in a location accessible to our partner organisations. We are delighted to have secured a unit as a hub for our Can Cook Will Cook programme at the Matchworks.” The deal is the latest in a long line of new tenants to join the Urban Splash portfolio in Liverpool. Just last month it was confirmed that Liverpool PCT had taken 4,555 sq ft and bespoke interior designer MYO Group had taken a 1,600 ft ground floor unit. Both deals were for units within the Tea Factory, part of the Ropewalks development in Liverpool city centre.
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Insider
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17-21 Chorlton Street
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M1 3HY
Telephone: +44 (0)161 907 9711
Email:
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