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Top story
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North West defence industry fights for its life
Proposed cuts to the UK defence budget being discussed in Whitehall today by the Defence Management Board could hit the North West especially hard. Defence chiefs from BAE Systems are continuing to make their case for a strong "sovereign capability" in key areas of immense importance to the North West. Hardest hit would be the Eurofighter Typhoon, made at Warton, near Preston, and the Astute nuclear submarine programme being built in Barrow. Operational costs of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have created a £2bn shortfall and the government is looking for savings on the Ministry of Defence procurement budget. Agonisingly, any announcement will not be made until March.
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China in your hands
Wigan Council has struck a deal with Chinamex, the trading platform of the Chinese government, and property company Commercial Group Properties, which will see the town transformed into a £125m textile manufacturing hub. The council's ruling cabinet will tomorrow formally agree proposals to sell a 1 million sq ft site at Westwood Park following two years of negotiations. The ambitious development is expected to create more than 1,000 new jobs, plus a further 3,000 in spin-off industries. A hotel and new motorway link road will also be built. 
Supercasino - second prize to be denied?
With Culture secretary Andy Burnham due to officially announce the closure of Manchester's supercasino hopes tomorrow, Manchester MPs are lobbying furiously to salvage jobs for east Manchester. Although the potential relocation of a government department has been mooted, Burnham is expected to announce that there are no such plans. Whether Manchester City Council is prepared to seek a judicial review is, however, debatable, with its Transport Innovation Fund bid awaiting approval.
Speedy update brings relief
Yesterday's third quarter trading update from Merseyside plant and tool hire business Speedy Hire has sparked a rally among City analysts. Shares are currently 41 per cent down from their June 2007 peak, after investors fretted over the company's £115m acquisition of rival Hewden Tools just as the credit crunch hit. But with revenues up 39 per cent in total, Speedy has reassured investors that its exposure to the sluggish housing and retail sectors is limited.
Barclays bulks up management
Barclays Commercial Bank has added new firepower to its North West team by appointing four new senior directors. James Cliffe, who has moved from NAB Capital, is now corporate director; Terry Emerson, formerly of KBC Bank, becomes business development director; Giles Barton, who arrives from HSBC, is the new relationship director for Merseyside and Cheshire; and Steve Bentley, who has moved over from Barclays Retail, is now relationship director for the leisure sector. Barclays remains one of the most bullish of the banks, having released results yesterday showing a £7.1bn profit.
Hold me Close
Fresh from its successful rebuttal of a hostile takeover from Cenkos, corporate finance adviser Close Brothers is to open an office in Manchester. It has appointed a new managing director to head the office and its North West regional operations. Richard Pulford joins from PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he has been a director in both Manchester and London and worked on secondment to the Takeover Panel.
Living Ventures shows some Gusto
Living Ventures' £10m rebranding and refurbishing of its Est Est Est chain into Gusto restaurants is to reach Alderley Edge this week, where the London Road restaurant will reopen under the new name on Saturday. Living Ventures has already rebranded its restaurants in Didsbury, Heswall, Edinburgh and Newcastle.
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MBI makes Carlick bread
Heywood-based table-top manufacturer S Carlick & Sons has undergone a management buy-in. The deal was led by Lee Shuck and Damian O'Donnell, who have become the new majority shareholders in the company following the exit of the Carlick family from the business. S Carlick & Sons was established in 1962 and makes wooden tables to the contract and office furniture markets. The company has 48 employees and a turnover of £2.45m.
Ravenscroft taken into care
Preston-based care providers Ravenscroft Homelink and Practicare, both part of the Ravenscroft Group, have been bought by Birmingham-based Claimar Care Group in a £2.85m deal. The two companies, established in 2002 and 1991 respectively, currently employ around 370 care workers and deliver around 9,000 hours per week to Lancashire County Council, also an existing customer of Claimar. Following the deal it will become the largest provider of domiciliary care services to the authority.
Happy Days for the kids
Lancashire-based Happy Days Childcare is to open a new £500,000 purpose-built nursery in Thornton Cleveleys with funding from The Royal Bank of Scotland. The nursery, which will accommodate 60 children, will be the third opening for Happy Days, which is run by David and Jackie Hoyle. The company also owns and runs two other Fylde-based nurseries: Victoria Happy Days at Blackpool's Victoria Hospital and Happy Days Carr Head next to Carr Head Primary School in Poulton-le-Fylde.
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A Wrather good deal?
Acting for developer Wrather, Cushman & Wakefield has paid £18.5m for Arkwright House, an 85,000 sq ft office building fronting Parsonage Gardens, just off Deansgate, Manchester. The vendor is CB Richard Ellis Investors and tenants at the Grade-II listed building include Bain Hogg, CGU Insurance, Aon and HSBC with Revolution bar on the ground floor. Wrather recently completed the Zenith building in Spring Gardens.
Vermont lands Ramada as Quarter anchor
Vermont Developments has agreed terms with Malta-based hotel operator Corinthia Hotels International (CHI) over a deal that will see CHI bring the Ramada Plaza hotel brand to Liverpool as the centrepiece of Vermont's £100m The Quarter scheme, opposite the new ACC Liverpool. The 173-room hotel will be aimed at corporate and high end leisure customers and will feature a fine dining restaurant, spa and conference facilities. More than 150 full time jobs will be created by the scheduled opening in June 2010.
Bluemantle spreads its wings again
A joint venture between Cheshire-based Bluemantle and national investor Kilmartin has purchased the landmark Miller Arcade in Preston from Maple Grove for £8.6m, in a deal advised by GVA Grimley and Bailey Deakin Hamiltons. The arcade fronts Preston's main retail area and borders the proposed Tithebarn scheme by Grosvenor Lend Lease. It comprises 53,148 sq ft of office and retail accommodation over five floors and has been sold with detailed planning consent for residential on the upper three floors.
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Calling all Liverpool professionals
Insider is gathering nominations for the Insider Liverpool Professionals Awards 2008, held in association with Professionaliverpool and DLA Piper on 15 May at the Crowne Plaza, Liverpool. Categories cover disciplines such as accountancy, banking, insurance, property and marketing. Please go to www.insider-nominations.co.uk for further details.
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Telephone: +44 (0)161 907 9711
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