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Top story
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JJB revival continues under Sir David
Shares in JJB Sports continued their recovery this morning as investors responded to the influx of blue-chip retail names in the boardroom. Sir David Jones has stepped up from a non-executive role to take over as non-executive chairman, while former Selfridges man Peter Williams will come in as executive director in charge of strategy. Chris Ronnie continues as chief executive of the Wigan retailer. Shares this morning were up 68 per cent, at 8.85 pence. Jones, the man credited with establishing Next as a high-street giant in the 1990s, was knighted in the New Year Honours list. He said: “We are facing the most difficult retail environment I have ever experienced but I am looking forward to working with Chris and Peter to re-establish JJB as a major force.”
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Deals
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Web deals for NetPlay
Lancaster-based NetPlay TV, the AIM-listed interactive gaming company set up by Monstermob founder Martin Higginson, has acquired two mobile gambling and skill gaming websites from Info-download, a subsidiary of Zed Worldwide, in a deal worth £1m. The company said it has issued about 2.88 million shares at 26p each to Zed, an entertainment software products developer, and would issue a further 961,538 shares on 31 March. NetPlay has also signed an exclusive two-year sales agreement with Zed that allows Zed to sell NetPlay’s interactive gaming services to its clients worldwide.
Are banks the reluctant private equity?
What does 2009 hold for the region’s banks and for the businesses on their balance sheets? How will state-owned banks operate and who is in control? In the first of his online columns for 2009, Insider editor Michael Taylor examines what needs to happen next if the banks are to start lending again. “The blockage in the financial system needs something even more incendiary than strategic stakes,” he says. “The banks are unwilling and unable to lend at anything like the ‘normal’ levels that Alistair Darling hoped for.” To read more visit the In Focus section on our website.
Stagecoach to pick up in Preston
Scottish public transport giant Stagecoach is expected to make an announcement to the London Stock Exchange regarding the takeover of Preston Bus for a reported £6.4m. The deal follows a bitter battle over routes in the city and has echoes of Stagecoach’s takeover of Manchester operator Bullocks in 2008 in that the target business approached the buyer. Preston Bus was sold by the local authority to employees in 1993 and has 120 shareholders. In December Stagecoach bought Eastbourne Buses.
Four Seasons rejects merger
Four Seasons Healthcare, the troubled nursing homes operator based in Wilmslow, has said it is making “good progress” towards the “consensual restructuring” of the group’s £1.5bn debt after rejecting proposals for a merger with rival Priory Group. The company entered a standstill agreement with its senior lenders last October after missing a loan repayment and has until 22 January to find a satisfactory way to restructure its debt. A company statement said: “We remain confident the debt will be restructured in a way that will ensure our facilities continue to operate successfully from a position of strength.” It is believed that the likely outcome will be a debt-for-equity swap to leave it owned by its banks.
Drink up
Husband and wife team Vanessa and Tim Hatton have opened a £300,000 wine bar and brasserie in Wilmsow with funding from The Royal Bank of Scotland. The Wilmslow Wine Bar is located in the same building as the French Brasserie, which traded in the town for many years. The Hattons also own a wine bar in Knutsford.
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Business
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Flood’s woes continue as retailer goes
Passion for Perfume, the perfume retailer part-owned by Modus Properties entrepreneur Brendan Flood, has called in Deloitte as administrator. The business, headquartered at Modus’ Manchester office, operates 44 shops across the UK employing 180 staff and is owned by Flood, his fellow Modus director Mike Riddell and Nigel Tobias. North West stores include one at Blackpool’s Houndshill, a development where Modus and contractor Balfour Beatty have been embroiled in legal wrangles – last week the High Court awarded Balfour Beatty £1.2m.
Stockley and Bramley save the day
Insider 42 under 42er Warren Bramley has teamed up with engineer Martin Stockley to reopen the Love Saves the Day delicatessen at Carver’s Warehouse in Manchester’s Piccadilly Basin. The shop closed in autumn with the group’s other two city centre outlets, but will re-open as An Outlet next week. Bramley, creative director at design studio four23, like Stockley a Carver's tenant, said: “We feel strongly that a building as special and as vibrant as Carver’s should have a great meeting place with an independent spirit.”
GMPTA reaches out
Are there any opinions left to uncover after 2008’s great Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) debate? Transport bosses at Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority (GMPTA) will be attending a drop-in session at 4pm tomorrow at Victoria station, to talk with members of the public. Keith Whitmore, vice chairman of GMPTA, said: “Greater Manchester’s public transport network has been in the spotlight for most of the year as a result of the TIF bid. We now want to capitalise on that interest as we reprioritise our plans.”
Gray matters, says Honours List
Bryan Gray, chairman of the Northwest Regional Development Agency, has been awarded a CBE in the New Year Honours list in recognition of his service to regeneration. Gray, who along with other regional development chairmen will serve an additional year at the request of trade secretary Peter Mandelson, taking his tenure to the end of 2009, said: “As well as being an honour for me, I see this as recognition of the work the agency has instigated, led or developed to ensure the ongoing economic regeneration of the region.”
Pensions slide
The credit crunch has wiped £65bn off assets in the pension schemes of the UK’s largest 100 companies, according to research from Deloitte. This is equivalent to five years’ worth of current pension contributions from these companies. David Robbins, pensions partner at Deloitte, says: “In the current environment it is crucial that companies look to proactively manage their pension schemes, just like the other aspects of their business operations.” Deloitte estimates that the FTSE 100 pension schemes are in deficit by £130bn. Using companies’ disclosed long-term expectations of expected asset returns, pension deficits would fall to £120bn over 2009.
Risk-averse CFOs prepare for tough 2009
The shortage of credit and a contracting economy remain the greatest concerns for chief financial officers, according to the latest Deloitte CFO survey, which looks back on the fourth quarter of 2008. Other priorities include strengthening balance sheets by maximising cash flow, bolstering investor confidence and curbing costs. Richard Bell, head of transaction services for the north at Deloitte, said: “Faced with an unprecedented speed of economic downturn in recent months, a further deterioration in credit conditions and exceptional uncertainties, CFOs have become significantly more risk averse and many are simply focused on survival for their companies.”
Shieldtech continues talks with bankers
Shieldtech announced on 31 December that it is talks with its bankers and has suspended trading in its shares. The company based in Warrington, which is a specialist provider of products and services to the Homeland security market, was unable to sign off its accounts for the year to 30 June while the talks are in progress. Its board of directors remains confident announcing that expected sales in its current financial year would be substantially greater than last year.
Losses for MKM
MKM Group has blamed a severe downturn in short-term promotional activity in Australia for half-year losses. On 30 December the Timperley-based specialist marketing services group reported losses before tax of £99,000 against a 2007 half-year profit of £318,000, with sales down 42 per cent for the half year to 30 September. Chief executive Brian Smillie announced a fundamental review of the group’s strategy and operations in Australia and added that the next few months were going to be tough in a difficult environment. The group will not be paying an interim dividend.
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Property
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Get creative, says FWP
Architects practice Frank Whittle Partnership has launched a creative land use division. The team will work with landowners to create innovative plans for land use and give advice and support on launching and developing projects of all sizes. David Robinson, managing partner, said: “Our aim is to help companies and individuals realise the potential of their land. Securing a change of use for a piece of land can dramatically increase its value. We are offering a service unlike anything else in the North West.”
Receiverships on the up
Surveyor Stevens Scanlan says it is receiving an unprecedented amount of receivership instructions as the recession bites. Chairman Alan Murdoch said: “On average we are receiving a Law of Property Act (LPA) Receivership instruction every day and this rate is continuing to increase. This rate is unprecedented in our 30 years’ experience in handling LPA receiverships. Not only is the volume of receivership instructions received at an all time high, but also we have never experienced such a wide spread of lenders on whose behalf we are acting.”
Argent gets flexible
Developer Argent is offering flexible leases at 43-45 Lever Street, a building adjacent to Argent’s 76,000 sq ft The Hive scheme, which has now started on site. The building comprises 10,000 sq ft of office accommodation and space will be available for 12 months at £11 per sq ft.
Bruntwood bags two
Commerical landlord Bruntwood has signed two more deals at its Exchange scheme in Manchester’s New York Street. Energy recruiter Air Resources will take 7,000 sq ft in its move from Deansgate, while a government department will take 16,900 sq ft. The Exchange has only 1,400 of its total 42,000 sq ft left available just five months after reaching practical completion.
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