It may be a coincidence but the involvement of the city of Liverpool at the World Expo in Shanghai may yield a significant Chinese investor in Liverpool FC. The Independent has named Zhu Jun from The9 Ltd – a Chinese online gaming business and the owner of Shanghai Shenhua of the Chinese Super League – as a potential bidder. In this week's Deals In Focus blog, Insider editor Michael Taylor provides an end-of-season round-up of the deal activity at the region's Premier League football clubs. To read more, click here.

Aerospace engineering firm RD Precision, based in Queensferry, has been bought by Gardner UK for £1.14m following a pre-pack administration. The business manufactures precision parts for aircraft wings, with approvals to supply a number of aviation firms including Airbus, Hawker Beechcraft, Stork Fokker and BAE Systems. North West restructuring partners at Grant Thornton, Matt Dunham and Les Ross, were appointed joint administrators of the company. Dunham said: “This was the most attractive deal for the creditors as it provides certainty of the outcome, will save a number of jobs and protected the existing supply line for its customers.”

The joint administrators of Bobby Jones Lifestyle Limited, the Preston wholesaler of golf clothing and accessories, sold the company’s assets for £26,830 according to a newly-filed report to creditors. Paul Flint and Brian Green from KPMG said no buyers were found to purchase the company as a going concern and so a strategy to sell off all remaining stock was put in place. New York-based HMX Group, which owns the Bobby Jones brand rights in the US, will now oversee all the Bobby Jones brand operations in Europe and has opened a new UK office in Knutsford. Bobby Jones Lifestyle was a subsidiary of Lancashire land remediation business Woodford Group which collapsed in August last year.

Profits have slipped at Cheshire animal feed manufacturer Oakes Millers following increased competition and higher energy prices. The business reported a pre-tax profit of £289,000 for the 12 months to 31 August, compared with £1.26m a year earlier. Turnover fell 8 per cent to £54m. Writing in its annual accounts, the company said: “The market in which the group operates has continued to be highly competitive with volatile commodity markets, escalating energy costs, coupled with a substantial over-capacity, all combining to make the year challenging.”

Manchester’s inward investment agency MIDAS and Manchester Airport are to launch Manchester Business Club in New York. This is the third branch, following Singapore and Kuala Lumpur and will be attended by Tim McDermott, director of operations at Manchester Airport, along with representatives of Manchester Business School, American Airlines, Continental Airlines and other companies with links to the Manchester and the North West. An evening reception will take place tomorrow at Soho House New York, with legendary journalist Sir Harold Evans as keynote speaker.

Southport craft bakery chain Mellors Limited has gone into administration, Insider understands. Joint administrators from Leonard Curtis were appointed at the company in late-April. The administration comes less than two years after the business secured a £500,000 working capital facility from RBS Invoice Finance to help it meet the demand for its confectionary products. Mellors, which can trace its history back to 1840, is owned by husband and wife team Chris and Dawn McLintic, who bought the business in 2004. It is thought to have employed approximately 100 staff with a turnover of more than £3.4m. Leonard Curtis declined to comment.

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HSBC’s North West corporate banking division has signed a £24m funding agreement with developer Neptune that allows the start of Neptune’s major New Brighton redevelopment scheme. Bowmer & Kirkland has now been officially confirmed as main contractor. The scheme includes a Morrison’s supermarket, Travelodge, a cinema and assorted leisure aspects. The first phase of the scheme was completed in 2008 with the award-winning 800-seat Floral Pavilion and Conference Centre.

Andrew Thomas, the chief executive of the Centre for Construction Innovation (CCI), is stepping into the Ask the Expert hotseat. CCI runs the North West Construction Knowledge Hub, which offers advice and training workshops for small businesses to help respond to the opportunities and threats posed by climate change. Andrew can answer questions on how companies in the industry can improve processes, increase sustainability and, in turn, become more competitive in the difficult marketplace. If you have a question you’d like to ask Andrew, click here to use our anonymous online form.

Commercial property adviser CB Richard Ellis has been appointed to dispose of two sites in Wigan that have a combined retail price of £1.4m. Cranberry Lodge is a part-completed residential development site with planning permission for 50 apartments and has an asking price of £1m. Britannia Inn is a cleared development site with planning consent for 20 two-bedroom apartments and has an asking price of £400,000. CB Richard Ellis is acting on behalf of receiver Begbies Traynor.

MAG Developments (MAGD), the property arm of Manchester Airports Group, is ready to make a start with a 200,000 sq ft freight warehouse. The building has been approved and MAGD has said it is prepared to build, without needing to recourse to bank funding, should demand make itself obvious. Insider property writer Neil Tague last week looked at the plans to create Airport City in a scheme that could re-draw the south Manchester property market in his Tague on Tour column.