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Top story
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Plumber cleared to play
Cheshire businessman Paul Davidson has ten days to come up with £38m to buy football club Real Mallorca after a court in Palma yesterday cleared him to buy a majority share in the club. Davidson wishes to buy 91.24 per cent of the club from former owner Vincente Grande, head of debt-ridden company Binipuntiró The deal was initially announced several months ago but had to be approved by a commercial court as Grande had been declared insolvent. Davidson, a colourful character known as The Plumber, bounced back from a high profile case against the Financial Services Authority to float a company on the Plus market with backing from a Sheikh in Sharjah.
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Deals
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Oval builds in the North West
Insurance broker Oval has strengthened its North West presence with the acquisition of Powell Insurance Brokers in Liverpool. Powell turns over £3.4m and has specialisms in construction and food and drink. Managing director Eliot Powell will continue to run the office. Oval has also made its first foray into North Wales, picking up Williams Insurance Brokers in Wrexham.
Clearwater looks to tame the tiger
A delegation from Clearwater Corporate Finance has this week gone to India to assess the requirements of technology businesses as it seeks to put together cross-border deals. It follows the £441m bid for British IT services business Axon by the Indian company HCL Technologies which topped the £407m rival bid from Infosys, another Indian company and one of the world's biggest outsourcing companies. The Clearwater team will meet Infosys, Wipro, TCS, Mindtree and Patni amongst others.
Time to get together, says PE boss
A combination of public and private funds could be used to safeguard thousands of jobs across the north, according to Garry Wilson, partner at private equity firm Endless. Speaking at Insider’s Northern Strategy Forum in Leeds yesterday, Wilson said such a combination could help to ease the burden of unemployment on local councils across the region. “If we can create the environment in which to invest, then we can address the issue of employment and councils won’t have to spend so much on the impact of unemployment,” he said. “What the government has done in supporting start-ups is fantastic but it’s now time to make best use of the resources we have available. A small amount of government money supporting companies in difficultly will help protect hundreds and thousands of jobs.”
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Business
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North West embracing 2012
The chief executive of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games has praised the North West for embracing the opportunities being created by the 2012 event. Paul Deighton, who will today speak at the Northwest Annual 2012 Conference held at the BT Convention Centre in Liverpool, said the games will create a legacy for the region in sport, culture, tourism, business and education. The North West is second only to the South East for pre-Games training camps, while 1,800 businesses are now registered to win contracts from London 2012 through the CompeteFor scheme.
Rapid response team to deal with Icelandic fall-out
The government has set up a rapid response unit that can be deployed to local authorities requiring assistance following the failures of Icelandic banks. The unit has been established by central government, the Local Government Association and the Improvement and Development Agency, to provide support to local authorities facing severe short-term difficulties. In a written Parliamentary answer, Communities Secretary Hazel Blears said that no council was facing problems with paying staff but that the unit would help with other issues.
Aldridge to open Darwen academy
Lancashire's Darwen Aldridge Community Academy will tomorrow hold its Founders Day, the £48m school having opened last month as the UK's first school to focus on entrepreneurship as its specialism. Rod Aldridge, founder of outsourcing business Capita, has made a £2m contribution to the academy, which bills itself as "aiming to break the cycle of under-achievement in an area of social and economic deprivation".
Anfield's prawn sandwich brigade grows
Restaurant chain Heathcotes, which manages Liverpool FC's Anfield Experience, has revealed that sales have increased 70 per cent since the corporate hospitality package was launched in December 2006. It is also predicting a 12 per cent rise in sales in the run up to Christmas, based on December 2007's figures.
Herrman joins Intercytex
Intercytex, a developer of regenerative medicine products that has its clinical production facility and research and development laboratories in Manchester, has appointed Max Herrman as chief financial officer. He joins from university IP commercialisation company Fusion IP where he held an independent consulting role for the past 12 months.
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Property
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DevSec joins Alliance
Listed property business Development Securities has taken a 50 per cent stake in Property Alliance Group's £35m Axis office tower project at Deansgate Locks, Manchester. The scheme, designed by HKR Architects, will include 75,000 sq ft of grade A office space over 18 storeys including self-contained office suites of 4,500 sq ft. Development Securities said it had been keen to explore further Manchester opportunities following its successful project at CityPark.
The Place to be
Argent's Piccadilly Place was last night named the Greater Manchester Chamber's Building of the Year 2008. Phil Cusack, chairman of the chamber's building and development section, said: "This award recognizes lasting change on the fabric of the city. Argent took a blighted piece of land at a critical entry point to the city and made it work." Also shortlisted were ISIS's Islington Wharf, the BDP headquarters in Piccadilly Basin and the University of Manchester's Alan Turing Building.
Marina Village moves closer
Construction of the £120m Marina Village development in Barrow has moved a step closer after urban regeneration company West Lakes Renaissance and Barrow Borough Council announced that they will work with Carlisle-based Story Group to refine the proposals. If negotiations are successful and funding is secured, an official agreement will be entered into. Marina Villa is the centrepiece of The Waterfront Barrow-in-Furness regeneration scheme and will provide 650 new homes, a 350-berth marina, a hotel, restaurants, bars, retail space and a sports ground.
Flying dentist signs up in Accrington
Petre Dental Practice (PDP), an Accrington-based family business, has bought the first of the six office suites at the Petre Court office park. Partner Colin Cromie plans to incorporate an office for the helicopter business he operates from Blackpool. The scheme is being developed alongside the M65 by Key Property Investments, the joint venture between St Modwen Properties and Kuwaiti investor Salhia Real Estate. PDP paid £470,120 for the 3,358 sq ft offices for £470,120.
Beva sells two in Littleborough
Acting on behalf of Beva Investments, Lambert Smith Hampton has disposed of two industrial units on Greenvale Business Park in Littleborough near Rochdale. An 18,000 sq ft unit has been sold to doors business PDS for £920,000, while a 5,038 sq ft unit has been bought by mechanical firm Falconex for £300,000.
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And finally...
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New Insider out this week
The September issue of Insider is out this week with a focus on the stars of tomorrow, in the shape of the 42 under 42 Class of 2008; and the visionaries of today, through the words of Peel supremo John Whittaker, ACC Liverpool chief executive Bob Prattey and Saatchi & Saatchi chief executive Kevin Roberts.
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