Ocon Construction, based in Manchester, has secured a hat-trick of new contract wins totalling £35.6m. The business is now set to start on-site at on three new student accommodation projects in three different parts of the country. A £25.2m Northfield contract for the University of Sussex will see the contractor build 776 student bedrooms at the university's campus near Brighton. In Exeter, Ocon is about to start work on a £7.2m project for sister company Opal Property Group, while in Loughborough, work has started on a £3.2m 101-bedroom scheme.

Blackburn bus maker Optare has received an early-stage bid approach. The company, reacting to a 16 per cent jump in its share price, said talks may or may not lead to an offer being made and that a deal was not a certainty. In the six months to 30 June 2009, Optare grew turnover a massive 561 per cent to £52.1m, but losses for the period widened to £2.5m before exceptional costs.

Corporate finance specialist Peter Terry has joined the Manchester office of Mazars as a partner. Terry was previously a partner at BDO, where his primary focus was on M&A and private-equity work. Tim Hudson, senior partner at the firm’s Manchester office, said: “He brings with him a wealth of knowledge and expertise that will be a great asset as we look to support ambitious clients in the recovering economy.”

Asset-based lender Davenham has confirmed it is seeking buyers or investors for parts of its business. In a statement to the stock exchange, the Manchester company said a strategic review of the group was underway, which includes the “seeking of indicative expressions of interest in elements of the group (or in raising finance for them)”. Davenham’s statement follows a sharp rise in its share price over the past week. Last year, it announced it would need to renegotiate its banking facilities during the current financial year and that a strategic review of the group would be undertaken ahead of the renegotiation.

The number of UK businesses told to turn off their gas to help avert a crisis has been reduced to 27, according to the National Grid. Yesterday it emerged that 39 companies across the North West were told to switch from gas to alternative sources of fuel. That number has been reduced to 15 today. National Grid, which did not reveal the companies affected, said this was the first time it has had to ask firms to do this since 2003.

The North West Aerospace Alliance (NWAA) has appointed the managing director of Burnley-based Aircelle to its board of directors. Andrew White has almost 30 years’ experience in the manufacturing industry and has been in his current role since 2005. As an NWAA board member, he will help to shape its strategic direction as well as the work the organisation carries out on behalf of member companies and the aerospace sector across the region.

Comedian John Bishop is to compère entrepreneur event RAW 2010, which takes place on 20 January at the Lowry centre, Salford Quays. Bishop will lead a cast of speakers that includes Dragons' Den star Theo Paphitis, Music of Black Origin Awards founder Kanya King and supermarket boss Edwin Booth. More than 350 specially selected guests will attend the event.

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