Hobs Reprographics, headquartered in Liverpool, has acquired a Bristol-based rival for an undisclosed sum. The company already has an existing presence in Bristol but said the purchase of AM Reprographics would help to widen its client base in the South West. The six-strong AM Reprographics team, including co-founding partners Ross Young and Tony Kelly, will now relocate to Hobs’ office in the city. Hobs was founded in 1969 and offers design, scanning, document management services. It has 25 UK branches and employs more than 300 staff.

In this week’s Ask the Expert, Dermot Power, partner and head of regional restructuring at BDO in Manchester, has been answering your questions on corporate restructuring. He addresses such issues as when company voluntary arrangements can be used, how administrators calculate their fees and what qualities interim managers can bring to a business in distress. He also looks at the falling trend for the number of businesses in distress and delivers this grim prediction: “I don't think we will have a double dip because I don't think we have had the first recession yet.” To read more, click here.

The FTSE 100 slumped further into the red this morning as investors reacted to the prospect of the UK’s first hung parliament since 1974 and the continuing debt crisis in Greece. Shortly after opening, the index fell 95 points and was down 97.31 points at 5163.68 by mid-morning. The pound also slumped to its lowest level against the dollar for more than a year, falling more than 2 per cent to below $1.4639.

Warrington-based Clare James Automotive has been named Volkswagen’s number one retailer of excellence in the UK for the third consecutive year. The award is based on an independent customer survey that rates the performance of Volkswagen’s 216 dealerships across the country. Clare James Automotive operates showrooms in Halifax, Liverpool, Stafford, Stoke-on-Trent and Warrington.