Chess Telecom has made another move in its bid to consolidate the reseller market by making its 45th acquisition in the past six years. The business, based in Alderley Edge, has bought NPC Telecom in Liverpool for an undisclosed sum. Chess director Richard Btesh said: “Continued market consolidation means our list is always growing and our flexibility and reputation enables us to approach increasingly significant targets.” The deal follows the acquisition of the customer-base of telecoms provider Pennycom Communications, based in Surrey. For Insider comment, click here.

Scottish contact centre operator HEROtsc has acquired a call centre in Warrington from mobile phone giant Vodafone. The company will continue to handle calls for Vodafone's “higher-value” customers at the centre. All of the 600 employees will transfer to the HEROtsc, taking its workforce up to more than 3,000. David Turner, chief executive of HEROtsc, said: “This is a significant development in both the mobile and the contact centre markets and enables us to offer a long-term future for the Vodafone employees who will be transferring to HEROtsc.”

Liverpool friendly society Royal Liver Group is edging closer to a deal with mutual insurer Royal London, according to reports. Royal Liver’s chairman David Woods last week told delegates at its annual general meeting that a takeover would be in the best interests of policyholders. If a deal is struck it would have to be approved by 75 per cent of Royal Liver’s delegates. Earlier this year Royal Liver was forced to repay £7.8m to customers of former subsidiary Park Row and sacked its finance director George McGregor for serious breaches of duty.

Estee Lauder Cosmetics has bought certain assets of Penrith-based Comptons, the UK distributor of hair care brand Bumble and Bumble, for an undisclosed sum. Estee Lauder acquired the rights to New York-based Bumble and Bumble in 2006, but the deal didn’t include the UK distribution rights. Peter Lichtenthal, president of Bumble and Bumble, said: “We’re at a critical juncture in our development in the UK and Ireland, where we enjoy a distribution network of both the finest salons and leading edge retailers. We’re eager to take it to the next level in terms of the educational programmes and business development tools we have to offer.”

A new stockbroking, corporate advisory and market-making firm has been launched in Cheshire, focusing on the small to mid-cap market and on AIM-quoted corporate clients. XCAP Securities has been established by Proquote founder Daron Lee and Evolution Group’s Christopher Potts, and will be chaired by Alec Craig, the former senior partner at Halliwells. The firm has already carried out a £3.06m pre-IPO fund raising and expects to float on the AIM market in mid-June. Approximately 20 staff will be based in Wilmslow, with 30 staffing a London office. Finance director Michael Frame told Insider: “As investment appetite returns to the market place, we have an opportunity to build and deliver a unique offering. An awful lot of the investors have committed to investing on the IPO and that shows a great deal of faith in the business.” The company is looking to raise £7m from the float.

Scholl footcare and Durex condoms maker SSL International, which has its biggest UK operation in Manchester, has posted a 50.7 per cent rise in full-year pre-tax profits and said it expects its strong growth to continue. The company, which last week bought Polish condom brand Rosetex for £3.9m, reported a profit before tax of £115.3 for the 12 months to 31 March, up from £76.5m a year earlier. Revenues were up 24.9 per cent to £802.5m, boosted by a 4.8 per cent rise in Durex sales. It added that acquisitions of condom distributors BLBV in Russia and Gainbridge in the Ukraine added £123m to the balance sheet.

Industrial engineering business Brammer has shrugged off what it described as “the most difficult trading period of recent times” to report a solid start to the year. The company, which is headquartered in Wythenshawe, said that first-half profits should be “well ahead” of expectations, buoyed by seven new pan-European account wins worth more than £40m. For the four month period to 30 April, overall sales at constant currency rates are expected to be up 3.5 per cent compared with last year. It added that all of its markets have now stabilised and most have begun to recover. The announcement pushed Brammer’s share price up more than 8 per cent this morning to 151p.

The new coalition government’s strong emphasis on rapid deficit reduction has been backed by more than three quarters of small companies, according to a survey by the Cheshire-based Forum of Private Business. Seventy-seven per cent of respondents listed repayment of the national debt as the government’s immediate priority, while stronger regulation of utility companies and banks was the next most popular priority. FPB research manager Thomas Parry said: “Our members take the view that the economy can’t continue servicing such a dangerous level of debt and it needs to be dealt with sooner rather than later.”

Sustainable energy company ENER-G, headquartered in Salford, has designed and built a new €2.6m combined heat and power centre in Budapest, Hungary. The 4.5MWe biogas from wastewater plant will supply renewable electricity and heat. It forms part of the Living Danube programme, which is one of Europe’s largest environmental investments currently underway. Balazs Marialigeti, director of ENER-G, said: “The Budapest wastewater treatment plant is a vivid example of how effective anaerobic digestion is as a commercial and environmental solution for large-scale projects such as this.”

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