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Top story
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Hunt for NWDA successor to start anew
The recruitment process to find a new chairman of the Northwest Regional Development Agency will start all over again in January, now that Bryan Gray has had his tenure extended until December 2009. New business secretary Peter Mandelson announced yesterday that the chairmen of seven regional development agencies (RDA) would stay on to ensure stability: “At this critical time for the economy I want to see continuity at the top of the RDAs.” The government wished to announce all the new chairs together, but in three regions the shortlist was rejected. Existing candidates, some of whom have privately told Insider they found the process “frustrating” will be welcome to reapply. One shortlisted candidate only learned of Gray’s extension when contacted by Insider for comment.
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Deals
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The future lies in technology, says Diggines
Jonathan Diggines, chief executive of fund manager Enterprise Ventures (EV) has called for greater investment in technology to help the UK economy grow. Speaking this morning at an EV seminar for investors and investees in the RisingStars Growth Fund, he said: “The dogma is that technology investments don’t make money. I say we are now in a new world and past performance is not a guide to the future. UK growth will not come from financial engineering: the biggest gains will come from new technology that will fuel demand in world markets. The UK has the skills – capital is required now to exploit them.” Diggines also called for tax cuts to stimulate the economy.
Zeus grabs MJ Quinn
Liverpool-based infrastructure business MJ Quinn Integrated Services has changed hands following a secondary buyout backed by Zeus Private Equity. The business, which is a preferred supplier of contracting services to the London Underground, clocked a turnover of £25m in the year to May 2007 and is expected to capitalise on the transport opportunities created by London 2012. Gary Tipper, managing partner of Zeus Private Equity, told Insider: “The best private equity returns are made when you invest in a downturn. There are plenty of opportunities out there.” 3i and the Merseyside Special Investment Fund are the exiting shareholders.
MBO at Kinetic
Manchester-based oil and gas recruitment company Kinetic Technical has undergone a management buyout backed by The Royal Bank of Scotland. The deal was led by managing director Neil McCarthy, who has acquired the business from parent company Kinetic plc, seven years after he joined the company to launch a specialist technical division. He said: “Demand for skilled workers in the energy production markets remains strong and we are keen to expand our presence in all sectors.”
Panel to help small businesses
A new panel has been launched to monitor how banks are lending to small businesses. The five major high street banks have reached an agreement with the government to provide data on the availability, risk and overall cost of lending to small and medium-sized businesses at the first meeting of the Small Business Finance Forum, held yesterday. Paul Henly, North West policy manager for the Federation of Small Businesses welcomed the move. “It’s important that banks are monitored and that businesses out there are asked whether they get a fair slice of the pie,” he said. “We do see variations on how small businesses are dealt with by the banks.”
Building society sells broking subsidiary
Manchester Building Society has sold subsidiary Mortgage Broking Services to Surrey-based Network Data for £2.2m. In addition, Manchester Building Society has taken £250,000 worth of preference shares in Network Data. Richard Griffiths, chief executive of Network Data, said: “Consolidation of the networks market is long overdue and we expect the trend to accelerate with many of the smaller networks struggling in the current weak market conditions.”
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Business
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Christmas is coming – spend, spend, spend
In spite of the current economic turmoil, 57 per cent of UK consumers
say they plan to spend the same this Christmas as they did last year,
according to the annual Christmas Retail Survey, published today by
business advisory firm Deloitte. But North West consumers plan to make
the biggest cutbacks in spending this Christmas, with respondents
telling Deloitte they plan to spend 16 per cent less this year. Chris
Ronnie, chief executive of retailer JJB Sports, told Insider:
“Christmas trading is hugely important and it looks like it will be a
difficult period. From what I hear, some retailers could be starting
January sales as early as the second week of December.” Ronnie spoke to
Insider for the November issue of the magazine.
Euro Garages hooks up with Spar
Blackburn-based petrol station operator Euro Garages has signed a deal that will see all of its own retail outlets convert to the Spar brand. Spar distributor James Hall & Co, and Spar nationally, is developing an ongoing partnership with Euro Garages, which has already seen 20 stores rebranded. Zuber Issa, managing director of Euro Garages, said: “The brand is an ideal fit and offers us a number of advantages such as product choice, additional buying power, sales improvement, as well as stock and category management.”
Game on for Sceptre
Sceptre Gaming, the fixed odds betting terminals (FOBT) division of Preston-based gaming group Sceptre Leisure has signed a new partnership with Videobet, a subsidiary of Playtech. The agreement will strengthen Sceptre’s position in the UK FOBT market by giving it exclusive supply of Videobet’s multi-game software in the UK. Sceptre said it had been experiencing significant growth with FOBT machines in licensed betting offices over the past 12 months and was intending to roll out Videobet’s software across the UK in 2009.
Banking expansion for Scandinavians
Scandanavian banking group Handelsbanken has chosen Stockport as the location for its new branch in Greater Manchester. Following the success of its Manchester city centre office and the new regional headquarters, which launched earlier this year at Manchester Airport, the Swedish bank will open a new base at Stockport’s Acorn Business Park to service its growing number of south Manchester and Cheshire-based clients. The branch will provide commercial banking services together with personal banking for high net-worth individuals.
Full steam ahead for Armstrong Craven
The founder of Armstrong Craven has told Insider that there are no plans to axe jobs at the Manchester-based executive search firm by parent company Work Group, which yesterday said net fee income for the AIM-listed group over the third quarter was down 11 per cent. Sue Craven said: “Armstrong Craven let five people go in back office functions as a consequence of plans to integrate wholly into the group next year, but there is no further cutting of jobs planned in Work Group. It’s going to be a much tougher year ahead, but it will still be a very profitable business. It’s full steam ahead.” Armstrong Craven was acquired by Work Group in 2005 and a flotation followed in early 2006. Work Group’s pre-tax profits for 2008 are set to be “materially below current market expectations”, but the board remains confident of gaining market share and is well positioned for when conditions improve.
In the bag for Halewood
Liverpool-based drinks manufacturer Halewood International has unveiled a new automated bag in box production line at its contract packing business H&A Prestige Packing Co, a 130,000 sq ft site in Chorley. The premises runs ten lines filling wines and spirits for major brand owners such as Diageo, Chivas Bros, Pernod Ricard, Bacardi, as well as Sainsbury’s, ASDA and Booker. Managing director Andy Smallman said: “The automated line forms part of a long-term £1m development and investment strategy for the company in wine and spirits packing.”
Thailand chooses Manchester
Thailand’s Minister of Tourism and Sports has today signed a memorandum of understanding with the World Academy of Sport, the Northwest Regional Development Agency and Manchester City Council to develop pre-Games training plans for London 2012 and sporting links with the North West. The World Academy of Sport, based at Manchester Business School, has also agreed to work with the Sports Authority of Thailand and the National Olympic Committee of Thailand to develop education programmes for sports authorities in Thailand.
Printing revenue boost
As businesses look to cut costs at every turn, the Greater Manchester business of Cartridge World has reported a growth of 3.71 per cent in the third quarter of 2008. Total sales across its 18 regional stores rose from £466,093 in 2007 to £483,367 in 2008. Cartridge World provides refilling and remanufacturing of printer cartridges, as well as stocking original manufacturer’s replacement cartridges. During 2008 its Manchester stores have seen sales of the original manufacturer’s replacements fall by 22 per cent, while refilling and remanufacturing have risen by 40 per cent.
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Property
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Room at the inn
Stockport contractor Multibuild has been awarded a hotel contract worth £1m by Whitbread to build an extension to a Premier Inn in Southport. The project entails building a 35-bedroom extension over 20 weeks to increase the capacity of the hotel, which is located in the retail and leisure park on Southport’s seafront. This latest contract highlights the strength of the relationship between client and contractor, which spans over 20 years.
Urban Vision heads to the Midlands
Salford-based urban regeneration and development company Urban Vision has opened its first regional office in Solihull in the West Midlands. Formed in 2005 via an initiative by Salford City Council, Capita Symonds and Morrison Highways Maintenance, Urban Vision provides a range of property development and regeneration services and was initially established to help drive the regeneration of Salford. It now works with over 40 local authorities across England and Wales, as well as an extensive list of private sector clients. The new regional office has been established to provide services and support to authorities in the West Midlands as well as servicing the East Midlands and other neighbouring areas.
Knight Frank on board
Property consultancy Knight Frank has been appointed by Bardsley as selling agent at the Boatyard development in Worsley following a period of intense interest in the development. The mixture of apartments and houses, with starting prices at £249,950, is located in the village of Worsley, on the banks of the Bridgewater canal. Nearly 50 per cent of the properties in the first phase have already sold.
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