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Top story
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TIF rows rumble as round one ends
Public consultation over Manchester's Transport Innovation Fund bid ends today. As Manchester City Council leader Sir Richard Leese subjected himself to an hour's phone-in on BBC Radio Manchester amid press releases about fancy new ticket machines and sleek-looking trams, the least unsurprising survey of the campaign landed. Amazingly, public transport business Stagecoach went and found a growing shift from car to bus and rail. Chief executive Brian Souter, Scotland's fourth richest man, said: "It is particularly significant as Manchester prepares to vote on TIF, which would deliver faster bus services, smarter ticketing and cleaner air quality." Fancy that!
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Today's news
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Nikal lands Colgate site
Nikal, the Manchester developer backed by Alan Murphy, has acquired the Colgate buildings in Salford Quays along with its partners, Abstract and US private equity giant Carlyle. The buildings total around 500,000 sq ft on an 8.42-acre site and will be redeveloped in a £30m project. Nikal managing director Nick Payne said: "This is a hugely significant purchase; we can offer unique space with floorplates of 90,000 sq ft. Once upgraded, it will provide highly competitive accommodation in a market seeking quality and value."
Codex buys translation business
Manchester-based document business Codex has bought Bilingua Group, a translation and interpreting business with a £1m turnover. The deal will complement Codex's financial and security printing, virtual data rooms and office and legal support services. Duncan Palfreyman, managing director of Codex said: "This was an ideal acquisition because of the high calibre of the existing team and its reputation with its client base in providing translation and interpretation services."
MBO at car dealership
Car dealership Lythgoe is to re-launch following a management buyout led by director, Mark Beach. Lythgoe has showrooms in Bolton, Rochdale and Oldham selling Citroen, Nissan, Fiat and Mazda cars and vans, including a used stock of 1,000 used vehicles. Beach said: "The economic struggle has made it challenging for our industry and I am pleased to say that with the dedication of staff and the creativity of our customer deals we are standing strong for a promising 2009."
Take a break
The final stage of a £400,000 refurbishment of the Dale Lodge Hotel in Cumbria has been completed following a funding package from The Royal Bank of Scotland in Kendal. Hotel owners Brian and Gillian Roberts acquired the property four years ago and have worked on overhauling the interior of the hotel. The bar specialises in real ales and has featured over 200 different varieties of beer from 69 countries and there are plans afoot to build a micro brewery on the site. A weekend in the Lakes anyone?
Story with a happy ending
Ameeca, a County Durham-based technologist, has agreed a contract with Lancaster-based Northern Hi-Tec to produce Ameeca's children's audio system StoryPhones. Ameeca managing director, Simon Johnson, said: "We considered looking abroad, but decided that for what we needed the quality wouldn't meet our high standards and we had to source in the UK. StoryPhones is a UK product and safeguards UK jobs."
Lancashire shed sold
Advised by WHR Property Consultants, Beva Investments has sold a 59,620 sq ft industrial unit at Knowsley Park Way in Haslingden to Rossendale Transport for £2.7m.
Beva has been retained to refurbish the property before the buyer movies into the property at junction 8 of the M65.
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Something for the weekend
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We'll drink a drink a drink
Let's hear it for big-hearted casino Manchester235, offering punters the chance to beat the credit crunch by slashing bar prices. A pint will now cost a jaw-dropping £2.90, rather than £3.30 - you're practically making money at that price. And between 5 and 8pm, there's 50 per cent off selected cocktails. Seems to us that if you're drinking cocktails at that time of day, you're probably not the type to worry about the credit crunch too much.
Deal of the week
With the banking market changing by the day, all credit - literally - to anyone who can get a deal over the line. The management team of Preston-based Bodycare Toiletries were celebrating this week after finally securing a buyout of the business. Although they had previously attempted to buy the company from its Dutch parent, obstacles had dragged the process out, the business began to suffer and was placed in administration last Thursday. But the funding team stayed on board and allowed the deal to go ahead. It's good to hear that, especially at the moment.
Quote of the week
When capitalism is literally teetering on a knife-edge, who better to turn to for an injection of reality? Er, the Pope, of course. "Now with the collapse of big banks we see that money disappears, is nothing, and all these things that appear real are in fact of secondary importance," he said this week. Tony Wilson, chairman of Klarius Group, chose to put it slightly differently: "Perversely, all this could inject some reality into the banking sector."
Canape won't pay
Hats off to the Manchester International Festival team, who greeted hungry hacks at yesterday's unveiling of the 2009 event's first three commissions with platefuls of cakes. Kudos to beancounters Grant Thornton, who were good enough to provide a heaving cheese board - alongside a pile of picnic snacks - at last night's wine tasting challenge, won by actuaries Barnett Waddingham.
Insider says...
Looking for something to read this afternoon? Look no further than Insider's new online columns dedicated to analysing the trends and events of the deals and property markets. This month Insider deputy editor Rupert Cornford examines the buying power of petrodollars
and the people with money to spend in the regional market for In Focus. And assistant editor Neil Tague take a closer look at the latest news and views on both sides of the Transport Innovation Fund argument in Tague on Tour.
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