Liverpool-headquartered IT services business Strategic Systems Solutions (SSS) has been bought by French-owned technology consultancy Capgemini for an undisclosed sum. Capgemini owned 49 per cent of SSS prior to the acquisition and will now integrate the company with its capital markets unit. The deal is expected to strengthen Capgemini’s offering in the Asia-Pacific region thanks to SSS’s presence in Singapore, China and the Philippines. Owen Weeks, chief executive of SSS, said the business would benefit from Capgemini’s strength and brand recognition. For Insider comment, click here.

The chief executive of the Royal Liverpool hospital has expressed his delight at the government’s decision not to scrap plans for the hospital’s £451m rebuild. Tony Bell said the decision ended months of uncertainty and paved the way for a state-of-the-art hospital that would “change the face of healthcare in Liverpool”. Building work on the hospital, which is receiving £328m of funding through a Private Finance Initiative (PFI), is due to start in 2012. The decision to press ahead with the plans came as the £450m North Tees and Hartlepool Hospital scheme was cancelled.

Businesses from across Merseyside were last night recognised in the inaugural Energy Innovation Awards held in the Hilton Deansgate in Manchester. E-Energy Enterprise, based in Newton-le-Willows, won the Grand Prix Award and New Energy Generation Award prizes for its E-Engine, which uses waste heat to generate electricity in industrial processes. Liverpool-based Furlong Innovations was also recognised with the Consumer Benefit Award for its CombiSave technology, which provides instant hot water to domestic boilers.

Liverpool One has received the National Gold Award for its biofuel initiative at the Green Apple Awards, held by The Green Organisation. The initiative involved collecting waste cooking oils from several of its restaurants and recycling it in to clean biodiesel. The fuel was then used to run the scheme's fleet of estate vehicles. The prize is the 39th won by Liverpool One since opening in May 2008.

Warrington catering business Waterfall Services has announced a 36 per cent increase in turnover to £38m following a string of new contract wins. The business, which is the parent company of education caterer Taylor Shaw and care and welfare specialist Caterplus, has won deals with Durham County Council and care organisation Jewish Care over the past year. The group employs 2,400 staff and is forecasting a turnover of £45m in the current financial year. Underlying pre-tax profits last year were £2.28m.

We’re at the end of Insider’s Property Week, our events programme that culminated in last night’s Property Awards. In his final blog of the week, Insider’s Neil Tague takes a look at the key themes that emerged from the week’s events. “What sort of shape is the market in? Those at the deals end say it’s gone quiet after a booming first quarter, but others say things have continued to gather pace. Mostly, it’s a case of ‘positive but realistic’” For more, click here.

We’re going to miss Matthew Norman’s spiky restaurant reviews for the Guardian. More than once in recent years we’ve winced as some of the North West’s more high-falutin’ establishments have been cut down to size – plucky newcomer Barburrito bucking the trend. In his last review for the paper, Norman visited Southport’s Warehouse Kitchen & Bar, now part-owned by Steven Gerrard. Seek out the review, we’ll leave you to decide as to the sincerity, at this important time for the England skipper, of the 11 out of 10 marks awarded.

Ugh. New research from the Labour Research Department says that many British workers are suffering because of inadequate toilet facilities and restrictive toilet break rules. In one call centre, unfortunately not named and shamed, anyone “paying a visit” is handed a wooden spoon, in the style of a downmarket gastropub food order. If someone else on the team already has the spoon, everyone else has to cross their legs and hope they hurry up. Revolutions have started over less, quite frankly.