Law firm Brabners Chaffe Street has formed a joint venture with Liverpool corporate finance adviser The Steve Stuart Partnership (TSSP) to boost its integrated professional advisory service. Under the agreement, TSSP will join with Brabners Chaffe Street’s existing corporate finance team to create a team of nine. The new venture, which will operate under the Brabners Stuart Corporate Finance brand, plans to target locally-based, owner-managed businesses and entrepreneurs. Mark Brandwood, managing partner of Brabners Chaffe Street, said: “Our partnership with TSSP is both a practical response to the market’s changing needs and an important development in our broader strategy.” For Insider comment, click here.

The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) is allocating £2m of grant funding for small and medium-sized businesses to develop green technologies. The move is part of the Northwest Climate Change Action Plan, with grants between £20,000 and £250,000 available for up to 40 per cent of project costs. Funding will be allocated over categories including waste treatment and recycling, pollution, and energy generation and efficiency. It is provided by the NWDA, working alongside Envirolink Northwest, and the European Regional Development Fund’s Grant for Research and Development.

Renovo Group, the developer of anti-scarring and scar prevention treatments, has reported a narrower first-half loss and said it remains on track to report data from its flagship scar treatment Juvista in the first half of 2011. The business posted a loss before tax of £7.3m for the six months to 31 March, down from a loss of £8.7m last year. Revenues were £5.2m. During the period it spent £8.3m on research and development leaving it with £58m in the bank. The trial results for Juvista will be crucial to the future growth of the company as it looks to get its drugs onto the market.

Online and TV interactive gaming group NetPlay TV has issued an upbeat trading statement, saying it is expecting full-year results to be in line with market expectations. The AIM-listed company added that it has moved to a positive EBITDA of £200,000 for the first quarter to 31 March. The Lancaster-based company took a total of £166m worth of bets during the first three months of the year, up 5.7 per cent on the final quarter of 2009. NetplayTV will announce its full financial results in June when it will also provide an update of the early trading of an ITV1 partnership which began earlier this month.

Bolton delivery company Parcel2Go is predicting a 38 per cent rise in turnover this year after hitting record sales of £11.6m in the year to 31 March. The business announced revenues of £11.6m for the financial year, up from £8.5m a year earlier, although the latest company accounts have not yet been published at Companies House. Parcel2Go co-founder Richard Adams-Mercer said: “Our customer base has expanded continuously, and we are constantly exploring new avenues and innovations to target.” The business now has 125,000 customers, up from 90,000 in March 2009.

Altrincham fit-out group Styles & Wood today said its strategy to diversify into the office and banking sectors has started to pay dividends and it is now set to achieve 40 per cent of group revenues from the sectors by the year end. In a trading update for the period from 1 January to 18 May, it added that it has now won a position on the Lloyds Banking Group framework. However, growth in these sectors has been more than offset by a decline within the food sector and the retail sector as a whole has remained depressed. The group anticipates that its revenue will have a “significant weighting” towards the second half.

A new sports management company called Prosperity International Sports Management has been launched in Rochdale. The business has been founded by Edward Smethurst, a commercial litigator and North West chairman of the Law Society Commerce & Industry Group. He is joined by former footballers Steve Blatherwick and David Reeves, while financial advice will be provided by David Hartley. The company is offering a free service to young football players, including the management of legal interests, image rights, tax affairs, contracts and pensions.

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