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Clitheroe-based Barrie Lancaster Insurance Services has been acquired by high street insurance retailer Swinton for an undisclosed sum. All of the firm's 800 clients will be taken on by Swinton, while owner Barrie Lancaster exits the business he founded in 1993. The deal marks Swinton's third acquisition in as many months after snapping up Preston-based And Insure and Yorkshire-based Rockford. Pierce and Forbes Solicitors advised on the deal. 
Linco set to expand Lancaster-based Linco Communications has completed a deal with Cattles Invoice Finance that has allowed it to free up capital for expansion. The telecommunications company, which was founded in 1989, has already moved into new premises to house its ten staff and is looking to recruit more employees over the coming months. Linco specialises in supplying, installing and maintaining telecoms systems to the commercial sector, with major clients including the Classic Hospitals Group and Ramsay Healthcare.
Clark joins Venture Finance Venture Finance, an invoice and asset-based lender, has appointed Martin Clark as business development manager at its Manchester office. He has 19 years' commercial banking experience and has also run his own retail franchise business. Clark leaves Cattles Invoice Finance to take up the post, where he was regional manager for the past three years.
A new coating plant is to be installed at Pilkington's Greengate Works in St Helens to produce speciality glass for a number of eco-friendly applications. The £37m investment represents one of the biggest developments for the Greengate site since 1992 and positions the facility as one of the most advanced manufacturing sites in the Pilkington Group. The investment has attracted a £3m industrial development grant from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, following support from The Mersey Partnership, the Northwest Regional Development Agency and St Helens Council. The facility is scheduled to come on stream in Spring 2009.
Manchester trams on track for expansion New tram lines are due to start opening in Greater Manchester from spring 2011 and nearly double the size of the Metrolink network. Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive has appointed M-Pact Thales to design, build and maintain the new lines - to Oldham and Rochdale, Droylsden in Tameside and Chorlton in South Manchester - as part of a £575m project. Construction work is due to start early next year. The M-Pact Thales consortium will also build a new quarter of a mile extension to MediaCity:UK in Salford Quays if the project is approved by government. Metrolink could be extended even further using a £3bn package from the government's Transport Innovation Fund and from a loan supported by the introduction of much-debated congestion charging.
Expect festive cheer with web-friendly Park Group Park Group, the Birkenhead-based financial services company, is bouncing back from the controversy that surrounded Christmas saving schemes in 2007, according to the AIM-quoted firm's preliminary results for the year to 31 March released this morning. Orders for Christmas 2008 have shown a healthy recovery after a decline following the collapse of competitor Farepak last year. Park Group has progressed with building its online presence, which has been a key focus for Christmas savings and corporate voucher sales, opening up new markets and allowing more effective marketing. Revenues were down at £225.1m from £305.2m in 2007 and pre-tax profits from continuing operations were almost halved at £5.2m.
Transport researcher opens regional office TRL, the UK's transport research laboratory, has opened its first office in the North West in response to the region's fast-growing environmental economy. An internationally recognised centre of excellence for research, consultancy, advice and testing for all aspects of transport, including sustainable construction and procurement, climate change adaptation and mitigation and transport planning, TRL will be able to grow its links with existing customers in the region, extend its client base and work collaboratively on sustainable transport with higher education institutions in the region. The Manchester base will be housed in accommodation offered under the University of Manchester Incubator Company.
Office move for Saffery Champness Chartered accountancy Saffery Champness has relocated its Manchester office to new premises in City Tower, adjacent to Piccadilly Gardens. The ten-strong team will occupy a 2,500 sq ft space on the 22nd floor of the building. The move follows the recent appointment of partner Simon Kite, who will be responsible for all commercial services in the North West.
New HQ for All Foundations Civil engineering specialist All Foundations is set to open a new northern divisional HQ in Rochdale, after winning a string of lucrative contracts in the region. The expansion comes after the Derbyshire-based company reported a 30 per cent increase in turnover to £10m in its last set of accounts and is on target to achieve £12.5m for the current financial 2007/08 year. John Robins has been named as the new northern division managing director.
Losses widen at Byotrol Manchester-based microbial technology company Byotrol has recorded losses of £2.77m for the year end to 31 March 2008 on revenues of £947,873. The company saw losses widen from £1.74m and admitted that progress is needed in key markets such as health care. However, the board assured shareholders that it is "extremely confident of success" and stressed that it was looking to secure more lucrative deals in the long term, rather than short-term revenues.
Contract for Hogg Manchester-based travel company Hogg Robinson has won a contract to operate Defence Travel, a new online service that enables British forces in the UK and overseas to book business travel to replace the current hotel, rail, overseas car hire and air services. Hogg Robinson will support the electronic booking tool process on all ticketing, as well as assisting travellers with more complex itineraries or those with special requirements such as family bookings.
Property developer Ask is to press ahead with a planning application to Stockport Borough Council to convert two former cotton spinning mills in Compstall, near Marple, into 122 residential apartments and creative workspaces. The company held an exhibition of the plans over three days last week. The application will be submitted with consultancy Drivers Jonas and will address serious concerns from residents over peak-time traffic levels in a notorious local bottleneck. Ann-Marie Duffy, marketing manager of Ask, said: "Over the three days of consultation last week we had around 140 visitors. There was a great deal of interest in the scheme."
Residential developments on hold Two North West residential schemes have been put on hold due to the continued lack of confidence in the residential property sector. Countryside Properties has confirmed that there is no scheduled start date for its massive 600-apartment Linen Buildings development in Preston while it undertakes a strategic review of its property portfolio, while Modus Properties has said that its ambitious Tower Grand scheme in Wigan is on hold for six months given the current market conditions.
Council disappointed at fire station progress Manchester City Council is putting pressure on Britannia Hotels, owner of the Grade II-listed old fire station on London Road, to make more progress on developing the site, which is a regeneration priority for the city and the private-sector led Piccadilly Partnership group. "We are continuing to engage with the owners but we are disappointed at the progress they are making towards bringing forward firm planning proposals and have made this clear to them," said a council spokesman. "While our preference is always to work constructively with landowners, in this case their lack of speed is a cause for concern and other options for promoting comprehensive development, with the support of stakeholders, are constantly being reviewed."
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