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Top Story
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North West launches £100m urban development fund
A new £100m fund to finance urban development projects across the North West has been launched today. The Northwest Urban Investment Fund, part of the JESSICA (Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas) initiative, will provide debt, equity and guarantee investment. The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) have each put £50m into the scheme, which will be managed by the European Investment Bank (EIB). The investments will be expected to make a return which can then be recycled in to other schemes to prolong the life of the fund. Frank Lee, head of holding funds and advisory at the EIB, told Insider: “The focus is on new expenditure, not refinancing. JESSICA can plug the gap where banks have shied away from projects. We are expecting it to leverage in additional funding.” Robert Hough, chairman of the NWDA, added: “This is a revolving, evergreen fund.” The North West is the second English region after London to set up a JESSICA fund.
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Today's news
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Formation continues non-core sell off
Formation Group has continued its strategy of selling off non-core assets by disposing its wealth management arm. The Hale-based company, which provides construction management and IFA services, plans to focus on its property division. In a statement to the stock exchange, it said Wealth FX, a company owned by FAM director Ian Battersby, has bought the assets of Formation Wealth Solutions for £225,000 over a five-year period. Iain Muffitt, another director of FAM, has acquired certain assets of FAM for around £125,000. Both men have stepped down from the board with immediate effect. Formation added that it was in talks with another third party about selling other “contracted income assets” of FAM. For Insider comment, click here.
Perspective buys Charles Reynolds Associates
Perspective Financial Group, based in Wilmslow, has bought Charles Reynolds Associates. Charles Reynolds' turnover is approximately £1m, with £100m of funds under management. Accordingly, the move will raise the total funds under Perspective's advisory and management to £800m, and boost its total annualised turnover to £11m. Damian Keeling, managing director at Perspective Financial Group, said: "Charles Reynolds Associates has a strong advisory proposition and delivers strong levels of turnover, funds under management and recurring income to the group." For Insider comment, click here.
HCA and AGMA have £370m conversation
A local investment agreement has been confirmed between the Homes & Communities Agency (HCA) and the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA). HCA and AGMA will agree future housing and regeneration priorities that will co-ordinate over £370m targeted investment across Greater Manchester. The agreement is the first sub-regional deal to be concluded under the HCA’s “Single Conversation” process. AGMA leader Lord Smith said: “Having a single voice and clarity about our priorities puts us in a stronger position and I commend the HCA for recognising this.”
Corridor on the hunt for developer
Corridor Manchester, the partnership responsible for the Oxford Road corridor, has launched its search for a development partner to turn the former Royal Eye Hospital building into 100,000 sq ft of high tech business space. The £20m project will be completed by spring 2012. A team has been selected to develop a design brief, comprising architects’ firm Fairhurst, project manager Drivers Jones, cost manager Davis Langdon, engineer White Young Green and science park specialist Cam Sci.
Coffee shop chain secures EFG funding
Entrepreneur Lee Chester has opened his second Centro Coffee & Juice bar after securing £100,000 of funding. The new store in Altrincham follows the success of his first store in Ashton under Lyne which opened in August 2007. The Royal Bank of Scotland provided £75,000 via the government’s Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme and a further £25,000 through asset finance arm Lombard. Chester said he plans to open ten new outlets in the next 18 months and is currently looking at sites in Liverpool and Cardiff.
Encouraging second quarter for Ensor
Second quarter trading improvements weren’t enough to stop profits falling 88 per cent at building products and industrial door supplier Ensor. The company, based in Wythenshawe, reported a pre-tax profit of £71,000 in the six months to 30 September, compared with £565,000 a year earlier. Revenues fell 15 per cent to £10.02m. Chairman Ken Harrison said the group had performed strongly in the second quarter, providing encouraging signs for the future. He added that the company disposed of subsidiary Powerplus during the period, as it was not “contributing fully to the business”, but said the business is “actively looking for suitable acquisitions.”
Businesses selected for investor programme
Creative and digital support organisation Northwest Vision and Media has launched a new initiative to help get businesses in the sector investor ready. The Fast Company programme has been developed in partnership with financial investment services specialist Pembridge Partners and business coaching consultant The Green Field. It has been set up with the aim of helping small creative and digital companies realise the value of their business and to assist them in accessing the most suitable funding. Eight businesses in the region have been selected to take part in the programme, including w00t!media, Mando Group, Wild Ones Promotions, The Game Creators, IQ Media, Studio Liddell, Little World Gifts, and Skylab.
The Jones boys combine at JJB
Wigan retailer JJB Sports has appointed Keith Jones, formerly group retail director of Dixons, Currys and PC World parent DSG International, as its new chief executive. Jones, who has also worked for Virgin and B&Q, will start before next March. Chairman Sir David Jones said: “I am delighted to welcome someone of Keith's calibre. JJB has been through a lot but we have now reached a stage where we have the funding, the strategy and the team to plan for the future.”
Your CVA questions answered
The Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA), which allows troubled businesses to pay back all or part of their debt to creditors over an agreed period of time, has been a useful tool over the past year. But what are the key benefits and why are they controversial? In this week's Ask the Expert, sponsored by Merrill DataSite, Bill Dawson, partner in the reorganisation services team at Deloitte in the North West, has been answering your questions on CVAs. To read his answers, click here.
Altair revisions go in
Following consultation with Trafford Council, HOW Planning has submitted a revised planning application for the Altair scheme in Altrincham town centre on behalf of Exige Developments, a Nikal company. HOW secured approval in August 2008 but has revised plans to include plans for a hospital and healthcare facility, as well as reducing scale and mass of the land uses approved by the existing consent. The 2.5-hectare scheme sits next to the town’s transport interchange and will include retail, residential, offices and a hotel.
Muse submits Talbot Gateway plans
Muse Developments has submitted its planning application for the £220m Talbot Gateway scheme in Blackpool. The proposed mixed-use scheme around Blackpool North Station and Talbot Road comprises around 914,600 sq ft of business space complemented by a supermarket, hotels, shops, cafes and restaurants. The proposals also include new headquarters for Blackpool Council. Mike Horner, regional director at Muse, said: “Our development will deliver huge, transformational change to this part of Blackpool.”
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Something for the weekend
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Mancs, Scousers unite in criminal conspiracy
This week’s “Are they serious?” story came on Tuesday morning, when it emerged that Lancashire Constabulary plans to cut crime by stopping cars on the main routes in from Greater Manchester and Merseyside. Assistant chief constable Andy Cooke roared: "Our message is simple. If you want to come to Lancashire to commit robberies and burglaries and steal high-powered vehicles, don't bother because we will catch you!" Best of all was the Lancashire Evening Post reporting the story online with an image of Harry Enfield’s comedy Scouser character. “Fanning” and “flames” spring to mind.
Our survey says “good grief”
File under “No way!” According to a poll of 2,000 people carried out by Manchester private members club/respected pollsters The Circle Club, 22 per cent of people have had sex at the work Christmas bash, 14 per cent have stripped and 12 per cent have snogged their boss. And people wonder why less companies are having parties. Sixteen per cent named Jordan (the celebrity, not the country) as their ideal guest. But what’s Sir Richard Leese done to upset the 24 per cent who wouldn’t want to party with him?
Sneaky so and sos in sicknote stupidity
And there we were thinking that video games were for kids. A study of 1,920 employees in the UK has revealed that the main reason men skive off work is to play on a games console, with a third of all sick days, genuine or not, resulting in time spent playing videogames. Twenty four per cent of chaps have pulled off phony sick days to play games, while 10 per cent have done so to do DIY – most of which can probably be accounted for by blokes thinking “She’s not running MY weekend with decorating!”
Canapé won’t pay
Spare a thought for Deloitte tax partner Sean Beech, who on Wednesday morning struggled gamely into the office to MC a breakfast seminar on tax and the Pre-Budget Report only hours after arriving back from the Wolfsburg-Manchester United game. Good job the coffee was strong. Top marks though go to the North West property industry’s charity Norfox for a splendid hotpot lunch yesterday at its annual Christmas gathering, although our man unavoidably had to miss embarrassing himself at the carol concert. Next time.
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