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Administrators at PricewaterhouseCoopers told Insider this morning that they have so far received 50 expressions of interest in acquiring the business and assets of Liverpool brewery and pub operator Cains after the company went into administration last week. Interested parties range from individuals through to big-name brewers and pub chains. At the end of July the AIM-quoted Cains Beer Company revealed a pre-tax loss for the six months to April of £4.5m and a disputed tax bill. 
Pub deals offer hope Despite predictions that pub closures are set to accelerate, with estimates suggesting that as many as 6,000 could close in the next five years, two North West pubs have been acquired in separate deals. Lancashire entrepreneur Kevin Berkins, owner of Burnley's Fence Gate Inn, has completed a deal to acquire Mondo's restaurant at Barrow, which he will rename The Eagle at Barrow. Paul Rogers, owner of The Railway at Euxton, has also taken over The Hinds Head in Wrightington, near Wigan, which he plans to turn into a gastro pub.
The Institute of Directors North West has announced its finalists for the Director of the Year Awards 2008. The three finalists in the Liverpool category are: Mark Fuller, managing director of Merseyside Special Investment Fund; Peter Cooke, managing director of Environmental Waste Controls; and Steve Corcoran, chief executive of Speedy Hire. And the Liverpool Young Director category brings together Daniel Davies of CPL Training, Keith O'Connor of Fleetsolve, New Mind's Richard Veal and Robert Williams of Dolphin Enterprises Europe. This year's winners will be announced on 18 September at the City of Manchester Stadium.
Individual Restaurant Company set to expand Individual Restaurant Company, which runs restaurant brands Piccolino and The Restaurant Bar and Grill, has agreed a £18.5m revolving credit facility with Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets to fund its expansion plans. The company will open seven new restaurants across the UK this year, including one in Clitheroe. Others will be based in Birmingham, York, Aberdeen, Bristol, Hale and Harrogate. Last week the business announced "resilient" trading in line with expectations for the six months to 29 June. Sales were up 21 per cent against the same period last year.
Businesses worse off than consumers, say Chambers Energy suppliers are failing to provide businesses with the same fair and transparent service as domestic energy users, according to the British Chambers of Commerce. The organisation is calling on energy regulator Ofgem to ensure it addresses this as part of its ongoing probe into the energy industry and for the establishment of a new watchdog focussed on the energy needs of business. "With the economy slowing and energy bills on the rise, it is totally unacceptable that hard-pressed businesses are left so open to exploitation by energy suppliers, said David Frost, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce.
More gloom for the region's businesses North West businesses should brace themselves for more gloom according to the CBI, after the organisation admitted the economy is deteriorating at a faster rate than it had predicted. In a letter to members, the CBI's director general Richard Lambert said that the "mood has darkened in the last two or three months" and warned that growth prospects for next year and 2010 "look no better than anaemic". The u-turn on its economic outlook came as it said the credit crunch had turned out to be bigger and more prolonged than first feared, while inflation has also soared higher than predicted. The Bank of England is expected to announce that inflation, currently at 3.8 per cent, has hit 4 per cent in July and that Britain is teetering on the brink of recession when it publishes its quarterly inflation report on Wednesday.
but the economy remains resilient The North West was the UK's most resilient regional economy in July, according to the latest PMI Business Survey Data, produced for The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) by Markit Economics. The findings suggest that the region experienced an expansion of private sector output in July as the seasonally adjusted Business Activity Index recorded 51.5, up from 47.6 in the previous month. But RBS economist Philip McKinnon said forward-looking indicators give little cause for celebration. "New orders were static and backlogs declined markedly, contributing to further falls in employment. Inflationary pressures also persisted, adding to the challenging business environment," he said.
Liverpool-based Kubik Design has won planning permission to build a £20m hotel and apartment scheme in Preston city centre. Working on behalf of Amadeus Property and Development, also based in Liverpool, the architecture firm has designed an eight-storey glass-clad building that will house a 136-bedroom hotel and 74 apartments as well as six ground floor retail units.
If you want the chance to vote for your favourite regional cheese and learn more about pairing wine with cheese, head to the People’s Choice Cheese Awards at Thornton Hall Hotel, Wirral, on Thursday evening from 7pm. Tickets are available from Claremont Farm Shop, the Liverpool Cheese Company, the Chester Cheese Shop and Thornton Hall Hotel. The winners will be announced at the Wirral Food and Drink Festival over the bank holiday weekend.
Creativity blooms A new Insider event – Creative people, creative places – is taking place at the Lowry, Salford Quays, on 24 September. At the event, sponsored by Business Link, guests will hear from keynote speaker Kevin Roberts, chief executive of Saatchi & Saatchi and author of Lovemarks: the future beyond brands. To register your interest in attending, please contact Helen Power on the Insider events team on 0161 907 9745 or helen.power@newsco.com.
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