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Top story
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Creative support organisation to close
The Creative Industries Development Service (CIDS), set up in 2000 to develop businesses in the creative industries in Greater Manchester, is to close in early March following the Northwest Regional Development Agency’s (NWDA) decision to appoint a single regional body to oversee the growth of the sector. From 1 March digital and creative industries body Northwest Vision and Media will become the regional cluster organisation, which the NWDA says is in line with the government’s national drive to make business support simpler for businesses. A new Business Link advisory team for the sector has also been established. Sarah Kemp, director of business relations at the NWDA, told Insider: “As with the other priority sectors in the North West a single regional solution was seen as the most efficient and effective way forward for driving the growth of the sector.” All but two staff at CIDS have now been made redundant.
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Today's news
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Look after big local business, warns report
The first part of the Manchester Independent Economic Review, released today, warns that “important policy lessons” need to be learnt by the city. Although the report, chaired by Sir Tom McKillop, praises the city’s handling of foreign investment for not “crowding out” or displacing investment by indigenous firms, it says that policy support should not be swayed by convention into gearing disproportionately towards either foreign investors or small businesses. “Investment by large domestic firms will have the biggest impact on both productivity and employment,” it said. The report, the first of seven, also warned that the city region’s businesses “seem unusually reliant on debt finance” and that an assessment of the threat and possible remedies should be undertaken urgently.
BDP goes for green building world title
Architects firm BDP’s Manchester studio has been shortlisted in the Green Buildings category at the MIPIM Awards, held at the international property exhibition in Cannes this March. The building faces competition from the Centre for Sustainable Energy Technologies in Ningbo, China and the Elm Park scheme in Dublin. Gary Wilde, the BDP director responsible for delivering the scheme, said: “I’m thrilled that our commitment to genuine sustainability has been recognised as a world-class example of low-carbon design. It has also brought BDP Manchester’s reputation for innovation and sustainability to a global audience.”
Blackpool adds three heavyweights
ReBlackpool, the urban regeneration company chaired by Sir Howard Bernstein, has voted in three big names as new board members. Joining the now 14-strong board will be Mike Appleton, a vastly experienced planner and a member of the Olympic Delivery Statutory Planning Committee, Marketing Manchester chief executive Andrew Stokes and Ged Fitzgerald, chief executive of Lancashire County Council and formerly head of economic development and European affairs for Liverpool City Council.
Blackpool Pleasure Beach struggles on
The company behind Blackpool Pleasure Beach saw turnover and gross profit fall in the year to 30 March 2008, according to the year-end results filed today, as the leisure market continues to remain highly competitive and afflicted by the weather. Turnover fell by 10 per cent to £34.3m and gross profit by 6 per cent. The company attributes these figures to the closure and sale of Southport’s Pleasureland in September 2007, which also gave the group a profit of £3.2m on the disposal of the assets. Pleasureland was acquired by Sefton Council and is still being considered for redevelopment.
Grant for innovative clothing
EC Contract Division has been awarded a £250,000 grant by the Northwest Regional Development Agency to help it develop an innovative impact protection clothing system to protect workers against blunt trauma and ballistic impact damage, such as the police, emergency services, traffic wardens, security companies, protection agencies. Based in Manchester, the company supplies high street fashion retailers, supermarkets and sporting organisations. The proposed garment, which has patents pending, would help absorb trauma shock and vibrations from repetitive collision and impact and help support muscles during repetitive use.
Salford Software signs in Scotland
North West IT business Salford Software has signed a deal worth £23,000 with Aberdeen City Council to provide an Affiliate Records Management System (ARMS) for its temporary workforce. In 2007 the council implemented an identity management system for its 14,000 employees, controlling access to central IT systems including core computer systems, employee identity badges and access to buildings. The ARMS system will allow the management of temporary workers using the same identity-driven approach.
Merger talks fail at Worthington
Worthington Group, the property and investment business chaired by former Bodycote chief executive and green industrialist Joe Dwek, has announced that negotiations with a third party that was seeking to merge with the group have failed. Dwek said that “the estimated charges for professional advisers to carry out the transaction became so burdensome as to make it not cost effective”. Meanwhile, head office rental receipts and costs are in line with expectations during this quarter, but trading results from associate company Trimmings by Design have deteriorated and registered a loss in the quarter, of which £40,000 is attributable to Worthington.
Growth through private equity
Manchester-based online travel agency On the Beach tops this year’s list of companies based in the North West to appear in the latest Sunday Times Deloitte Buyout Track 100 league table. On the Beach, which is backed by Isis Equity Partners, is ranked 13th nationally in the annual league table published this weekend. There are eight North West companies featured, including Chester’s Calder Group, Blackpool’s Tangerine Confectionary and Wigan’s Ainscough Crane Hire. The table ranks Britain’s 100 private equity-backed companies with the fastest-growing profits measured over the latest two years of available figures.
In the garden of Eden
Town planning consultancy Steven Abbott Associates has won planning permission on behalf of Eden Park Developments for the local centre of Buckshaw Urban Village, the brownfield regeneration scheme between Chorley and Leyland. When finished the project will include a new supermarket, other small shop units, 159 apartments and 24 houses, a petrol station, a nursery and other facilities.
Paver Smith picks up Pazang
You can’t keep a good man down. Paver Smith, the Liverpool PR agency led by Dougal Paver, the Duracell bunny of North West PR, has added further momentum to its new Manchester operation with the acquisition of Wilmslow-based boutique agency Pazang. The move follows the departure of founder Tanya Arturi following the recent birth of her first son and her desire to focus on developing lifestyle magazine Prestbury Living. Pazang account director Charlotte Jones will join Paver Smith. Paver said: “We’ll take growth and high-calibre people from wherever they may come.”
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Something for the weekend
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Deal of the week
Diversification is the name of the game across the technology sector at the moment. AIM-listed mobile marketing provider 2ergo announced this week it will acquire Rawtenstall-based mobile security business Broca for £4.9m. Barry Sharples, joint chief executive of 2ergo, said: “Broca’s technology has significant potential to generate future earnings as part of 2ergo and to provide added value to our customers by enhancing our range of products and services.” Like Broca, 2ergo is based in Lancashire, although it has plans to move to Salford Quays.
New Insider out this week
It’s tough out there and bad things are happening to good businesses, but February’s Insider looks for the reasons to be cheerful. We’ve aimed to focus on some of the positive stories coming out of the North West and have found some real gems. There’s an interview with iTeddy entrepreneur and Dragons’ Den star Imran Hakim, a look at the unstoppable train that is the Burnley-headquartered Original Factory Shop and the first in our new Thought Leaders Forum series.
Lost in France
Gone are the days of even the budget airlines quoting upwards of £800 to get to international property exhibition MIPIM and back from a full six months before the event. A cursory check yesterday morning revealed that flights between Liverpool and Nice, going out Wednesday and back Saturday, could be secured for less than £100. The monkeys may not be bothering this year, but the organ-grinders will, so it looks a great chance to book before they have to rename MIPIM from Massive to Medium-sized International Piss-up in the Med.
Snow Balls
You’ve got to hand it to the PRs for whom absolutely anything other than the utterly routine is an opportunity, in this case snow. First out of the blocks was Rainier PR (we’ll ignore that pun opportunity) on Monday morning with “Liverpool business won't be snowed in with flexible working”. Home worker placement firm Remote Employment followed up with “Remote and Home Workers Keep the Country Moving” on Tuesday. It took personal injury law firm Hubbard Pegman and Whitney until Thursday to come up with “Snow use blaming your employer for slipping on the ice”, while chatterbox Rainier popped up again on behalf of telecoms client Aastra, linking today’s “Stress Down Day” with the stresses of commuting in bad weather. Bless.
Getting the nod
We were rather disappointed not to get an invite to Manchester’s Hi-Life Dining Awards, apparently known “universally” as the Hildas. Well, with entertainment “by swing singer Paul Pashley, of Wayne Rooney’s wedding fame” who wouldn’t be? Nice to see Noddy Holder lend weight to proceedings in the judging for overall best restaurant as well, the first name on the team sheet in any culinary contest, you’d think.
Canapé won’t pay
Excitement was in the air at Revolution at Deansgate Locks – while the mini-burgers and pizzas were plentiful - as a glittery celeb bash gathered to laud the five North West companies that took part in Prince’s Trust initiative Million Makers, where the challenge was to make £20,000 in six months. Insider’s prize for overcoming adversity goes to Daisy Communications, whose two main fundraisers, an It’s a Knockout event and a James Bond premiere night, fell victim temporarily to a midsummer monsoon and a broken cinema screen respectively.
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