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Top story
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Burns takes ski lift to top of Chill Factore
Chill Factore, the new indoor ski and leisure facility at Trafford Park has appointed David Burns as chief executive. The private equity-backed group behind the venture spent £31m on the Manchester operation and plans to roll out the concept around Europe. A well-respected leisure industry executive, and a director of Altrincham Football Club, Burns' CV includes board level positions at Airtours, when it was doing well, and from 2000 to 2002 he was chief executive of the Football League. He most recently was managing director of Travelsphere Group, which he took through a buyout and eventual sale to private equity group Electra. Chill Factore was started by entrepreneurs Peter Moore, David Sterland and Andrew Lockerbie and is backed by Bridges Community Ventures.
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Gill takes the Liverpool hot seat
Jim Gill, chief executive of Liverpool Vision, is to head the new economic development superquango that will be formed by the merger of Vision with the Liverpool Land Development Company and Business Liverpool. Gill, awarded an OBE in 2006 for his services to regeneration, was the early and obvious favourite, given the respect he commands in property circles. But he did not initially apply for the post, which was initially offered to Michael King, head of economic development for Jersey, in November. 
Carr's on track
Carlisle-based agricultural supplier Carr's Milling Industries said yesterday that trading for the quarter to December 2007 was ahead of budget, although it warned its full-year results would depend on notoriously hard to predict August trading. With demand from dairy farmers soaring, revenues will be well up as a result of price increases following the sharp increases in the cost of the principal raw material, feed wheat. Oil sales have doubled following the acquisition of Johnstone Fuels & Lubricants in January 2007.
Happy Christmas for the Co-op
The Co-operative Group has recorded its eighth successive quarter of like-for-like growth on food sales and chalked up its highest ever single day of sales on Christmas Eve, when it recorded £24m of sales. Chief executive Peter Marks said that results from recently rebranded stores were up by more than 11 per cent, a result that showed that customers are "enjoying the new shopping experience".
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Indian company offers to buy Southport drug maker
Widnes-based medical business Hale Group has agreed to sell its Southport-based subsidiary Bell's Sons and Co to Mumbai-based Marksans Pharma. Bell's was formed in 1847 and exports drugs worldwide as well as producing private-label products for Asda, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Superdrug. Reports in the Indian media put the offer price as high as £15m.
Speedy spends again
Serial acquirer Speedy Hire, the quoted Newton-le-Willows tool and equipment hire company, is preparing to buy the tool and equipment hire business of AMEC Logistics and Support Services (LSS) for £12.5m cash. The deal with LSS, AMEC's single point of supply for providing hire assets, is set to complete on 1 February and strengthens Speedy's links with the engineering giant. As part of the deal, AMEC's industrial division has entered into a four-year exclusive supply agreement with Speedy.
Weatherseal swoops for window brands
Winsford-based window and conservatory company Weatherseal has acquired the Staybrite and Zenith double-glazing brands, as well as half of the sales offices and installation centres of owner Bowater Home Improvements, a Norwich-based company that was placed into administration on Monday. Weatherseal is part of the Latium Holdings group owned by Sale Sharks rugby team owner and multimillionaire entrepreneur Brian Kennedy, which also includes conservatory giant Ultraframe. The company is preparing to complete £9m of orders it has inherited.
Wine sale on in south Manchester?
Gatley-based wine distributor and producer Boutinot Wines has appointed KPMG's corporate finance team to explore sale options for the business, which has annual sales of around £50m. A sale to either private equity or a trade buyer could make Paul Boutinot's management team between £30m and £40m. Boutinot sold the business to Greenalls in 1992, but bought it back three years later.
SMS seals steel deal
Stainless Metric Stock (SMS), a steel stockholding business based in Darwen, Lancashire, has undergone a management buyout for a seven-figure sum. The team was led by Phil Cowley, who continues as managing director. The deal will allow the retirement of chairman Eric Jones - Jones and his wife Pat were the majority shareholders in the company. Funding for the deal was provided by the Royal Bank of Scotland. SMS was founded 27 years ago and specialises in supplying pipes and fittings for water treatment and rollers for paper and pulp mills.
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Bruntwood hits back at Afflecks sniping
Property developer and land owner Bruntwood has hit back at reports that it is threatening the future of bohemian flea market Afflecks Palace in Manchester's earthy Northern Quarter. Bruntwood has offered a new lease to Elaine Walsh, who trades as Afflecks Palace, and says the future of the market stalls is in her hands: "We remain focused on finding a solution, but this is dependant on Elaine Walsh's commitment to continue to run her own business."
Holt! Who goes there?
The major Holt Town Waterfront regeneration scheme, which could see 4,300 new homes built on a site bordering Sportcity in east Manchester, has been approved by Manchester City Council. The plans have been put forward by Cibitas Investments, a special purpose regeneration and development vehicle backed by ING Real Estate, Stanhope, Sir Bernard Schreier's CP Holdings and other private investors. The 95-acre scheme is the largest ever application approved by the council.
Blackburn chooses Maple
Maple Grove Developments, part of the Eric Wright Group, has been selected as preferred developer for the regeneration of Blackburn's Cathedral Quarter. The site masterplan has been developed by BDP and provides for around 500,000 sq ft of new space, including a new transport interchange, commercial offices, apartments, retail and leisure facilities.
Splashdown in Swansea
Manchester-based developer Urban Splash has signalled its ability to compete for major schemes by being named as preferred developer, along with London-based heavyweight Hammerson, for a £1bn, 30-acre mixed-use scheme that brings together four sites in Swansea city centre. Splash will be responsible for building 1,000 homes in the BDP-designed scheme.
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O'Brien take northern brief for KPMG
John O'Brien is to take over as KPMG's head of transaction services in the north. He has been a partner at KPMG for more than 15 years, most recently combining his transaction services role with leadership of the firm's office in Liverpool - his home city. He has now handed over the reins for KPMG's Liverpool office to fellow partner Ian Goalen and, working from a Manchester base, will head transaction services' 100 strategy staff across the Leeds, Newcastle, Manchester and Liverpool offices.
Markland aims to make mark at NB
Martyn Markland has joined NB Real Estate with the brief to grow the Manchester office and build an agency team. NB is one of the UK's largest property managers with around £24bn of assets under active management for clients including AXA, Royal London, Sainsburys and the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Brown to run Halliwells Liverpool operation
Law firm Halliwells has appointed corporate partner Jonathan Brown as the head of its expanding Liverpool office. A well-known corporate lawyer, he joined Halliwells from DLA Piper in Liverpool in September 2005. He is also a director and trustee of The Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.
Shake-up in PR world
Manchester-based PR agency MC2 is step up its push into consumer PR with the appointment of Nathalie Bagnall as managing director. MC2 has also bought Bagnall's fledgling agency business Vertigo and will integrate it into its existing consumer business, which includes Kraft and Benedictine. Last year the agency, started by Mike Perls and Jenny Morgan in 1999, launched a financial PR arm.
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Dancing cranes herald 08 riches
As Liverpool prepares for the official opening of its year as Capital of Culture, the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) is predicting a region-wide £50m boost in visitor spend, on top of the £50m already heading for Merseyside itself. "Liverpool has been transformed over the last five years. The economy is growing faster than ever," said Bryan Gray, chairman of the Liverpool Culture Company and the NWDA, speaking to Insider this morning. "The big economic benefit will be around investment in the region - when competing globally for inward investment, quality of life and economic confidence are a big factor." At 20:08 on Friday, people will gather on St George's Plateau for The People's Opening, a performance featuring Ringo Starr and a ballet of dancing cranes.
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