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.

Sales have dipped 2 per cent at education, leisure and activity travel group Holidaybreak after bookings were delayed and capacity was reduced at its camping business. The company, based in Northwich, Cheshire, said the performance was resilient given the tough economic conditions and added that it expects to meet expectations for the full year to 30 September 2010. Executive chairman John Coleman said: “While trading in each of the group’s divisions is encouraging, we expect the trading conditions over the coming year to remain challenging as a result of continuing economic uncertainty.” The company is also continuing its search for a new chief executive after Carl Michel stepped down from the post in September last year due to personal reasons.

Linmark Electronics, based in Sale, has moved from administration to creditors’ voluntary liquidation, with Jason Baker and Geoffrey Rowley at Vantis appointed as liquidators. The company, a distributor of consumer electronics and a 60 per cent-owned UK subsidiary of the Hong Kong-based Linmark Group, entered administration in July 2009 following a dispute with a major customer concerning the value of returned stock. According to a creditors’ report recently filed at Companies House, administrators from Vantis secured £430,400 for the sale of intellectual property and brand names owned by the company, but could not achieve a going concern sale of the business despite a number of interested parties. All staff were made redundant last October. In the year to 31 December 2007, Linmark achieved a turnover of £110m and employed 52 people.

Preston-based Torotrak, which is developing drive transmission technology for industrial equipment and vehicles, today said it remains on target to break even for the full year to 31 March 2010. In a statement to the Stock Exchange, the company said its European truck and bus manufacturer programme has completed the first prototype transmission build, triggering a contractual payment of £337,000 due in March. Its engineering programme, led by gearbox manufacturer Allison Transmission, is also on track, with Allison set to pay £3.75m to Torotrak next month in accordance with a licensing agreement.

Rossendale flooring company Interfloor Group, created following the merger of Duralay and Tredaire in 2002, has swung to a pre-tax loss for the year to 30 May 2009 after being hit by falling sales and higher raw material costs. The business reported a pre-tax loss of £5.6m for the period, compared with a profit of £2.5m a year earlier, against a turnover of £80.9m, down 16 per cent on 2008 levels. The company cut 61 jobs during the year, taking the group headcount to 503, and relocated the operations of its Stikatak brand from Ruislip in Middlesex to Haslingden, Lancashire, and Dumfries, Scotland. The cost of the restructuring process was £3.5m although Interfloor said it will bring “significant full-year benefits” in the current financial year.

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