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The Liverpool-headquartered Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), the UK's second largest pension fund, is set to place a total of $750m with Constitution Capital Partners, a new private equity firm, to invest in North American mid-market private equity funds and other investments. USS will also take a 10 per cent stake in the management of the newly formed Boston-based group. 
SAL directors take charge Chorley business SAL Abrasive Technologies has undergone a management buyout funded by The Royal Bank of Scotland. Directors Janet Handley and David Parkinson have bought out fellow director Simon Parkinson, who is emigrating to Australia. Set up in 1968, SAL makes products used for cutting, polishing and grinding by customers in the aerospace, automotive and metalwork sectors. DWF, Dickson Haslam and Tenon advised.
No identity crisis for Currie Liverpool investor Bill Currie has built up his shareholding in Chester-based identity management business GB Group. He now has an interest in 7,120,000 ordinary shares of 2.5 pence in the company, representing 8.43 per cent of the issued share capital. Currie is a former joint managing director of Charterhouse Securities and also acts as a non-executive director for Coffeeheaven International.
Renowned Liverpool eaterie 60 Hope Street has been awarded one of the first accreditations in the Taste Liverpool scheme. Based on the successful Taste Lancashire scheme, which now has more than 100 members, Taste Liverpool highlights establishments that offer a quality dining experience to visitors in the city region. To win certification the restaurant, café or bar must meet strict criteria including quality of food, hospitality, service and efficiency and cleanliness.
Mando keeps going places Following a four-month tender process, Liverpool-based web development agency Mando Group has secured a three-year contract to develop a number of web projects for Place for People, the property management and development company. It fought off competition from more than 30 other businesses to win the contract and will be the sole supplier for the company's digital needs. Places for People is based in Preston and has a portfolio of 59,000 homes, contributing to combined assets of £2.4bn.
Intrinsic in the borders Haydock-based systems integrator Intrinsic Technology has been appointed by Borders College, a major provider of training in the Scottish borders to overhaul its entire voice and data network. This is the latest in a string of project wins in Scotland for the company and is part of a venture that has attracted major investment to modernise and provide learning and teaching facilities for further and higher education.
Government cracks down on dodgy traders Rogue traders and con merchants in the North West are set to be thwarted by a new team backed by £825,000 of government funding. The specialist Trading Standards team will be based in Liverpool and will help local authorities and the police crack down on rogue traders, dodgy doorstep salespeople and many other scams. The government is investing £7.5m iso that Wales, Scotland and each of the nine regions in England has a team.
New office, new faces at Deloitte Deloitte is celebrating it move to new city centre premises under the leadership of tax partner Sean Beech, who has taken the reins as the firm's partner in charge of the Liverpool office. Beech will be working with partner Jane Clark, who will be leading the Merseyside audit team. Former partner in charge Steve Wilkinson retired on 31 May after 35 years with the firm. The 70-strong office has moved into more than 7,000 sq ft of space in newly refurbished Horton House in Exchange Flags, where it will continue to provide advisory services to some of Merseyside's best-known businesses, such as Halewood International, Merseyrail, Medicash and Everton Football Club.
Good news for Norcros Cheshire-based Norcros, the home consumer products group that floated on the stock exchange in July 2007, has seen a 3.4 per cent rise in revenues to £167.9m and a 67.8 per cent increase in profit, including exceptionals to £9.9m in the year to 31 March, according to results posted today. The company reports that its UK operations have proved resilient in the face of a consumer downturn, while its investment in South Africa, where it manufactures and sells ceramic tiles, adhesives and sanitaryware, has delivered strong figures. Expecting no respite in pressure on energy prices and the consumer market, chairman John Brown said the group is maintaining its focus on cost reduction and cash management.
Agency Hitchcock, Wright & Partners is marketing a Grade II-listed building on Liverpool's Rodney Street. The building sits within a conservation area and offers a business the rare chance to acquire a period property with its own front door. It comprises 2,650 sq ft across four floors of office space.
Shopping-centre schemes to flatline Liverpool may be enjoying a retail renaissance through the Liverpool One scheme, but town centre redevelopments built around retail are no longer proving viable to funders, according to property consultancy Colliers CRE. Head of retail Greg Styles said yesterday at the presentation of the firm's Midsummer Retail Report: "Who would build a shopping centre right now? Retailers are committing later to schemes, construction costs are climbing and yield shifts have destroyed appraisals. Currently there is 60 per cent less space under development than was predicted two years ago." The firm predicts that 26 million sq ft of retail development across the UK will be shelved in the next 18 months - worrying news for North West locations with major projects in the pipeline, a list that includes Preston, Bolton, Oldham, Bury, Northwich, Macclesfield and Rochdale.
DTZ cuts not a North West matter The 50 redundancies at DTZ, the first of the major consultancies to declare such cuts, should not impinge on its Manchester or Liverpool offices heavily, the firm said this morning. In a statement, DTZ said: "Of a total UK headcount of 2,000, fewer than 50 people are affected by the review. Across the North West there has been only one role confirmed as surplus. Consultation is underway to establish the extent to which the people in these posts can be redeployed, minimising the need for redundancies."
Manchester Business on BBC Radio Manchester tonight will discuss the health of Manchester's digital and IT industries 60 years after Baby - the first computer - was invented at the University of Manchester. The guest presenters on the programme will be Jacqueline Hughes-Lundy from Altrincham-based Inspiring Connections and Michael Taylor, the editor of Insider. The hot topic will be: Why is Silicon Valley in California and not next to the banks of the Irwell? Guests include: Professor Steve Furber from the University of Manchester, who designed the BBC Microcomputer back in the 1980s; Shaun Fensom, chairman of Manchester Digital; and Dr Katrina Delargy, a research scientist who runs her own company, Aventura.
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