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Top story
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Carr’s Milling Industries remains on target
After a bumper 12 months for its feed and fertiliser divisions, Carlisle-based Carr’s Milling Industries has said it remains on track to hit year end targets despite trading conditions becoming increasingly difficult. The company, which makes flour, fertiliser and animal feed, said its first quarter results to 31 December 2008 were in line with expectations and ahead of the first quarter last year, but it did not expect to enjoy some of the exceptional profits made in 2008. In the year to 30 August 2008, the business more than doubled pre-tax profits to £12.9m, up from £5.5m a year earlier, and revenue grew 47 per cent to £372.3m. The main thrust of the profit improvement came from its agriculture division, which increased its operating profit 128 per cent to £11.7m on revenue of £275.8m, a result helped by the early buying of raw materials. Carr’s share price rose 2.5p to 430p following the announcement this morning.
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Deals
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Quay acquisition for Parasol
Parasol, the Warrington-based payment outsourcing company, has embarked on the first of several planned acquisitions after snapping up specialist accountancy practice Quay Accounting for an undisclosed sum. Quay, which employs 50 staff and has a turnover of £1.5m, has offices in Manchester, Poole and Aberdeen. Parasol managing director Rob Crossland, who led a management buyout of the company in November 2006, said it was a “key strategic move” for the business. “Adding strategic complementary services, with the aim of building a portfolio of companies, will enable us to look after every aspect of a contractor’s career, from start to finish,” he said.
Sell-off for Andrew Industries
Accrington-based manufacturing business Andrew Industries has sold one of its subsidiaries to a US company in a multimillion-pound deal. The company, which was founded in 1894, operates manufacturing plants throughout Europe, the US and Asia and produces products for the pollution control and business machine industries. It has sold its Canadian subsidiary Filterfab, with plants in Ontario and Quebec, to the National Filter Media Corporation.
Leisure M&A deals set to surge
The North West leisure industry can expect to see a surge in the number of distressed mergers and acquisitions in the second half of 2009 as desperation to raise cash will outweigh concerns over asset valuations. According to Stephen Hunter, head of travel, leisure and tourism at KPMG in the north, deals will remain largely frozen in the early part of the year, but should accelerate in the last six months. “While large deals will remain unlikely due to funding constraints, those with the necessary cash reserves for smaller investments will be keeping a watchful eye out for bargains, which will become more plentiful as distress increases and selling assets becomes imperative for survival,” he said.
Nono limit
Burnley-based Wilman Interiors, a supplier of fabrics and wall coverings, has agreed a deal to take over Knutsford-based interior designer Nono Designs for an undisclosed sum. The company plans to manage Nono as a standalone brand alongside its own products, which are sold through independent retailers in more than 30 countries worldwide. Nono founder Gill Nono will relocate to Burnley as part of the deal and become creative director.
Stats tell the story
Deal values in the North West slumped by a massive 61.7 per cent in 2008, according to research released by Corpfin. The figures indicate that the value of transactions last year stood at £8.8bn compared with a figure of £22.9bn a year earlier. A total of 745 M&A and IPO transactions were announced in 2008, an 11.2 per cent drop on the results from 2007, when 839 deals were announced.
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Business
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Two directors leave Formation board
Sports agency Formation Group has announced that two non-executive directors are to step down following the annual general meeting held this morning. Alec Craig, the senior partner of law firm Halliwells, has been a non-executive director since 2002 and is also chairman of Tepnel Life Sciences. Ossie Kilkenny, whose accountancy practice was acquired by Formation in 2007, is also stepping down.
In the pipeline
The University of Manchester’s intellectual property commercialisation company UMIP has licensed a new technology to Pipeline Engineering that uses acoustic technology to detect blockages and leaks in gas pipelines. Acoustek can quickly and accurately locate problems at distances of up to 10km. The technology’s development has received more than £500,000 funding from sources including BP, The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and Knowledge Transfer Partnership.
Monkhouse invests in new system
FR Monkhouse, the schoolwear and sports goods retailer based in Stockport, has marked its 70th anniversary by investing £250,000 in a new stock management system. The system, installed by Knowsley-based Cybertill following a four-way competitive pitch, replaces old in-house servers and will link all Monkhouse’s 20 branches in real time using the internet accessed via a virtual private network.
North West filming provides £45m boost
Despite a slight nationwide downturn in filming during 2008, the North West remained the largest and most prosperous production centre outside London with 526 productions being shot in the region over the past 12 months. Northwest Vision and Media, the organisation that works on behalf of the creative and digital industries in the region, said the net result of the visiting productions helped to generate an estimated £45m to the North West economy. High-profile productions attracted to the region over the past year include Guy Richie's latest feature film, Sherlock Holmes, which spent 11 days filming on location in Manchester and Liverpool, and the BBC’s new six-part drama All the Small Things, which was filmed in Cheshire.
Code remains on track
Manchester-based digital agency Code Computerlove has developed a new website for First TransPennine Express. The business was first appointed to review the train operator’s online strategy in April 2007, resulting in a 103 per cent increase in online ticket sales and sales growth of more than £1m. The first phase of the new site, which gives more prominence to key customer and sales information, has gone live.
Business optimism for the New Year
Despite the recession, many regional businesses are optimistic about their performance during the coming year, according to a survey of 3,000 North West businesses out today. The report by Manchester-based Bridging Finance indicated more than 50 per cent of respondents acknowledged the credit crunch was having a significant or very significant influence on their business strategy, but 46 per cent said it had not affected their ability to grow the business. In addition 50 per cent expected their turnover to increase in the coming year.
Chill Factore's David Burns dies
David Burns, the chief executive of Manchester’s Chill Factore, has died aged just 52. A well-known and well-liked business executive, he had a passion for sports and leisure, having worked for 13 years for Airtours and two for the Football League as chief executive. He lived in Hale and had joined the board of his local club Altrincham FC. In an interview in Insider last year he spoke candidly of his battle with stomach cancer but also of his passion for business and new ideas. He leaves wife Jane and two children and many, many close friends.
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Property
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Planning permission given for Rochdale shed
Planning permission has been granted for a 616,250 sq ft industrial unit with 250,000 sq ft mezzanine level at the Kingsway business park in Rochdale. Although unconfirmed, it is likely the facility is destined to be leased to retailer JD Sports. Kingsway is a 420-acre business park being developed by Wilson Bowden, the Northwest Regional Development Agency and supported by Rochdale Development Agency and the local authority.
Tague on Tour
English Partnerships and the Housing Corporation are no more. But the Homes and Communities Agency is up and running, with the highly-rated Sir Bob Kerslake at the helm. In the latest Tague on Tour column, Insider property writer Neil Tague looks at how the worst property market in years may not necessarily be the worst time for the agency to make its mark. Click here to read more.
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