Insider is delighted to announce the shortlist for the fifth annual Lancashire Dealmakers Awards 2010. The black-tie ceremony, which takes place on 4 March at Ewood Park in Blackburn, celebrates the continued strength of the county’s dealmaking community. With three new categories up for grabs – Technology Deal of the Year, Small Deal of the Year (under £2m) and Turnaround Deal of the Year – there are some new names on the list, as well as some familiar faces. In this week’s In Focus blog Insider editor Michael Taylor looks at the background to the awards and reveals the businesses and individuals that have made the shortlist. To read more, click here.

The University of Liverpool has secured £700,000 to research the causes of infectious diseases that have a major impact on poultry production in Ethiopia. The study will be carried out in collaboration with the International Institute for Livestock Research in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian Institute for Agricultural Research, the University of Nottingham and the Roslin Institute in Scotland. It has been funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Department for International Development (DFID), with a contribution from the Scottish Government, and forms part of a £13m project to help tackle the growing threat posed by livestock diseases in developing countries.

The poor economic conditions, coupled with uncertainty in the market caused by regulatory change, has hit profits at Warrington-based IT consultancy and recruitment business Montpelier (Search & Selection). The company reported revenues of £11.9m for the year to 30 April 2009, down from £38m a year earlier. Its pre-tax profit fell from £636,000 to £200,500. Writing in the company’s latest accounts, director David Gittins said the results were “disappointing”, but profit margins have “generally been maintained” through stringent cost control. He added that its bad debt has increased after a major customer went into administration.

Syntor Fine Chemicals, based in Runcorn, has won the Greater China Rising Star Award and the annual Greater China Business Awards 2010. The company has a research and development laboratory in Hangzhou, China, which it opened in February 2008. The awards recognise contributions made to developing business or network links with China, including bi-lateral trade or investment. Other winners included HSBC; animal breeding company Genus; and The Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. The awards were organised by UK Trade & Investment North West and the Northwest Development Agency, and supported by Finnair.