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Top story
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Windtex powers up for growth
Merseyside-based start-up Windtex, which specialises in the service and maintenance of wind turbines, is on course to hit a turnover of £330,000 after less than six months of trading. Co-founder Bradley Hickman told Insider that the business, which launched in February after securing a £42,000 investment from the Northwest Small Loans for Business Investment Fund, has already been named as a preferred supplier of international wind turbine developer Nordex and is gearing up to tender for international contracts.
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Deals
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Tritech on track following AECOM deal
AECOM, the US technical and management support services group, has bought Wigan-headquartered civil engineering and design consultancy Tritech Rail as part of a plan to expand in the sector. Tritech was founded in 1999 and employs more than 100 people from its Lancashire base.
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Business
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Strong profit rise at Maersk
Danish shipping giant Maersk has announced soaring profits for the first-half of the year following an upturn in container volumes. The company, whose Maersk Line UK headquarters is based in Liverpool, reported £1.6bn net profits for the six months to 30 June against a £347m loss for the first half of last year. Revenues rose to £17.6bn from £14.6bn.
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Centriforce looks to exports for sales growth
Liverpool plastics recycler Centriforce Products is planning to double export revenues in the next three to five years as it seeks to take advantage of growth in emerging markets. The company has increased overseas trade to 20 per cent of turnover but managing director Simon Carroll believes this can reach 40 per cent.
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GM unveils flotation plans
Vauxhall parent General Motors (GM) has taken the first step towards a stock market flotation after filing its proposals with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The move begins the timetable for the initial public offering, which analysts believe will raise between £7.7bn and £10bn.
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Public sector job losses creating a ‘two-speed labour market’
The number of available jobs in the North West’s public sector fell by 11 per cent in the second quarter of 2010, contributing to a 38 per cent year-on-year decline. According to figures from online job site Totaljobs, health and education were the worst hit sectors, down 20 per cent and 15 per cent respectively.
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Coppock set for JJB departure
Wigan sportswear retailer JJB Sports has announced its finance director Lawrence Coppock is to step down from his position within the next 12 months. The 250-store business, which teetered on the brink of insolvency last year, said Coppock felt the role he was recruited to perform was “substantially complete”.
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AMEC wins £60m Cheshire contract
Engineering and project management company AMEC has been awarded a contract worth more than £60m by EDF Energy to extend a gas storage facility in Cheshire. The work at the Hill Top Farm facility in Warmingham will enable EDF Energy to significantly increase its gas reserves.
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Property
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Bromborough training centre on track
Hankinson Painting Group, the painting and coatings specialist based in Birkenhead, is to open a new 7,000 sq ft training academy in Bromborough, Wirral. It will train staff to work on rail projects to the required Network Rail competency level.
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Mason Owen markets Rodney Street space
Property agent Mason Owen has been instructed to market a newly-refurbished office building in Rodney Street, Liverpool. The 1,063 sq ft building is available for sale or to let and comes with a minimum of seven on-site car parking spaces.
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Arley heads for Chorley
Arley Homes, the Warrington housebuilder, has bought a 2.5-acre site in Charnock Richard, Chorley. Plans have been approved for 28 family homes on the Chorley Lane site and construction is due to begin soon.
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