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Top story
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City lags behind on sustainability agenda
Liverpool is striving to improve its green credentials as it moves up only one place – from bottom to last from bottom – in a league table of Britain’s most sustainable cities. Released today by sustainable development group Forum for the Future, the Sustainable Cities Index tracks progress on sustainability in Britain’s 20 largest cities, ranking them on environmental performance, quality of life and how well they are addressing issues such as climate change and recycling. But Liverpool, which only beat Hull in the table, has improved its rankings on waste collection and ecological footprint and moved up a place on future proofing. The city council's executive member for environment, Berni Turner, said: “We have made major strides in the last few years by improving many things such as exam results, the fitness levels of residents, recycling collections and the cleanliness of the River Mersey. The city council is absolutely committed to doing everything we can to improve sustainability. That is why we have dedicated 2009 as Liverpool’s Year of the Environment, which will not only celebrate the city’s green credentials but will also focus on involving every resident in a debate about what we can do reduce our carbon footprint. But these are major challenges and it can’t be done overnight.”
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Deals
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Access all areas in the US
Haydock-based engineerging company ATG Access, which produces security traffic bollard systems, has acquired the US vehicle barrier division of Dutch group Boon Edam, with backing from The Bank of Scotland. Managing director Glenn Cooper said “This acquisition forms part of the strategic development of ATG Access’ business, and in particular, international presence. Our products and services are in great demand in the UK and overseas markets and this acquisition will increase our growth in North America.” 
In Focus – the countdown to Dealmakers
The votes have been counted and it’s nearly all over bar the celebratory drinks. As the build-up begins for Thursday’s Insider Dealmakers Awards 2008, Insider editor Michael Taylor this week turns his attention to the voting process and who will win the much-coveted Deal of the Year Award. As he says in this week’s online deal column, In Focus, he says: “You have to take a punt in this game. Someone has put their balls on the line to back a deal, or at least to get it over the line.” Click here to find out more.
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Business
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Regeneration still needs support, says Parkinson
The government cannot afford to “turn the tap off” and stop supporting
key regeneration projects across UK cities. That was the message from
regeneration guru Professor Michael Parkinson of Liverpool’s European
Institute for Urban Affairs during a keynote address at Insider’s
UK Investment Forum in London. “Public sector projects are going to be
less affected during the downturn and I think that is going to be the
big message over the next two to three years,” he said. In a bleak
assessment of the massive challenges facing the property industry,
Parkinson warned that nowhere was immune from the slowdown, although
money could still be made in London because of higher prices. “The
north and Midlands are having a tougher time. Core cities such as
Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham are probably better protected because
they have more robust economies, but I fear more for the impact on
smaller cities and one-horse towns in the regions,” he said.
Vauxhall workers face anxious wait
Workers at Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port plant face an anxious wait over the factory’s future after details emerged over the weekend that beleaguered parent company General Motors needs a bailout from the US government if it is to avoid bankruptcy. The group’s third-quarter results, released on Friday, revealed losses of $4.2bn compared with $1.6bn a year earlier. It is understood that talks are set to take place in Germany today to determine where costs will be cut. The Ellesmere Port plant, which employs 2,200 workers, was forced to halt production for 18 days in October and early November due to a drop in car sales.
Second Greenberg company in administration
Greenberg Glass Emergency has been placed into administration less than two weeks after its Liverpool-based sister company Greenberg Glass Contracts also failed. Administrators at MCR Corporate Restructuring have been appointed to review the financial position of the company, which employs 300 people in Huddersfield, with a view to completing a sale of the business and assets as a going concern. Redundancies have been made across the group and only a number of administrative staff retained. All UK depots apart from Huddersfield have been closed down, but there have been a number of parties expressing interest in these operations, which include bases in Salford, Gateshead, Leeds and Croydon. Over the last 18 months the Greenberg Group has undergone an extensive restructuring programme, which included dividing the two businesses.
Sefton negotiates private sector contracts
Lawyers from the Liverpool office of DLA Piper have negotiated two ten-year agreements with private sector partners totalling about £300m on behalf of Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council, in one of the UK’s largest local authority outsourcing projects. The first sees Capita Symonds take over the provision of the council’s technical services, which include street lighting, highways maintenance, estate management, architectural services, civil engineering and drainage. The second transfers a substantial financial and information services function to Arvato and involves customer services, revenues, benefits, accounts payable, payroll, pensions administration, transactional HR and ICT. To support the delivery of these services, a number of council employees have transferred to Capita and Arvato.
North West resilience isn’t enough, says RBS
The latest PMI North West Report, produced by Markit Economics for The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), has provided further evidence that the region has been weakened by the fallout from the global financial crisis and economic downturn. The seasonally adjusted Output Index shows a second consecutive fall in activity levels across the North West private sector during October, with the amount of new business received by the region’s companies falling at the fastest rate for around seven years. “The region remains one of the most resilient in the UK, but, as this month’s data show, it will not be immune to a UK recession,” said Philip McKinnon, economist at RBS.
James Fisher and Sons remains on target
Barrow-based marine service provider James Fisher and Sons has announced its trading from 1 July is in line with expectations, boosted by new contract wins by its offshore oil business and strong organic growth in its specialist technical division. The company, which also provides engineering services to the nuclear industry, said demand has remained steady and it has been largely unaffected by the crisis in the global financial market. For the six months to 30 June 2008, the business posted a pre-tax profit of £11m on revenue of £114.1m. To aid further expansion, James Fisher has also finalised a new unsecured £25m revolving credit facility with Barclays Bank.
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Property
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Insolvency rise points to property gloom
The number of companies going bust rose sharply between July and September, with the figure expected to soar in the coming months. According to the Insolvency Service, more than 4,000 companies went bankrupt in England and Wales during the third quarter of 2008, while another 1,007 businesses went into administration. Matt Dunham, the North West regional chairman of trade body R3, said the figures indicate that repossession of commercial property is on the increase. “Companies buying or selling property are being squeezed by a reduction in prices and a shortage of buyers,” he said. “We have all known for some time that the property and construction sector has been badly hit by the downturn and these figures are evidence of that.”
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Events
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Dates for your diary this week
The British Council of Shopping Centres is holding its annual conference at ACC Liverpool from today until Wednesday, just a stone’s throw from the city’s latest shopping triumph, Liverpool One. The event will celebrate 25 years of creating innovative retail environments and the conference chairman is Sir Stuart Hampson, former chairman of the John Lewis Partnership. Speakers include Sir Terry Leahy, Tesco chief executive, and fashion visionary George Davies. Tuesday sees the arrival of the Merseyside Business Fair at St Georges Hall, featuring seminars, free marketing clinics from the Chartered Institute of Marketing, a free business start-up clinic and free head and back massages. Thursday evening brings the launch of the Cities on the Edge book of photography at Novas Contemporary Urban Centre and, officially, the start of Christmas in Liverpool, as the Liverpool Culture Company and the Business Improvement District start a weekly series of festive events around the central retail areas.
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Contact Us
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Telephone: +44 (0)161 907 9711
Email:
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