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Top story
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Business backs call for VAT breathing space
Pleas from Shadow Chancellor George Osborne to help small business have been welcomed by business organisations. Phil Orford, chief executive of the Cheshire-based Forum for Private Business, told Insider: “One of our bugbears in the past has been a lack of understanding of small and medium-sized businesses by the two main parties. We welcome any proposals that ease the pressure on small firms during this economic downturn.” Among Osborne’s proposals is a call for a six-month VAT holiday for small businesses, a move Orford said will “give them a breathing space and help keep people in work”. The Federation of Small Businesses’ North West policy manager Paul Henly told Insider: “Great words, now let’s see action. Most vitally, we need to see the sources of finance for small business opened up without ridiculous interest rates.”
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Deals
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JJB sells stake to Ashley
Sports Direct has paid £3.4m for a 5 per cent stake in its Wigan-based retailing rival JJB Sports. Chief executive Chris Ronnie said of the deal with his friend and rival Mike Ashley: Sports Direct approached us with an offer to participate in a placing of new shares. After due consideration, the board and I deemed the offer to be attractive for both parties. It will put JJB on a more secure financial footing and provides further flexibility for us to take positive steps that provide stability for the group.
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Business
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TIF question questioned
Referendum expert Sir Neil McIntosh has completed the preamble and question for Greater Manchesters Transport Innovation Fund bid vote. The proposed text will go before the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities Executive Board on 31 October. Voters will be asked to read through an enclosed leaflet before making their choice. But the protesting Greater Manchester Momentum Group has swung into action, saying that a 5,000-strong poll it organised in October revealed only a 48 per cent awareness of public consultation. A spokesman said: We feel strongly that the current suggestion is unbalanced and that, given the findings of the poll, Transport Innovation Fund is jargon and would mean little to many people. We feel the question itself - not just the introduction - must make clear reference to both the transport improvements and the congestion charge.
Styles & Wood stays strong
Despite ongoing concerns over consumer spending, Styles & Wood, the Altrincham-based retail store development company, this morning released a trading statement to the stock exchange that stated revenue for 2008 would be in line with expectations. Pre-tax profit is likely to break even, largely as a result of a shortfall in margin relating to certain projects substantially completed in 2007. But the cash impact relating to these projects has already been absorbed. In August the companys interim results showed revenues of £123.1m, down from £149.8m in the first half of 2007, and pre-tax profits down to £2.4m from £5.2m.
Begbies reports 480 per cent rise in critical problems
Begbies Traynor has released its quarterly Red Flag Alert statistics on companies in trouble and its bad news. Over 600 North West businesses face critical problems, up 480 per cent year on year, while nationwide the number of companies with critical issues has doubled in 2008. Executive chairman Ric Traynor said: September was the worst month yet for UK businesses. The effects of recent market volatility, coupled with the second year effects of the credit crunch conditions, have clearly taken their toll. We expect to see an even further increase in critical business problems as distress escalates over the next year.
Davenham prepares for losses
Shares in asset-based finance firm Davenham Group were down 76 per cent at noon today as the market responded to news that ongoing deterioration of the property market is hitting the Manchester-based company hard and it will not be profitable in the current financial year. The property division has ceased writing new loans, although new business in trade and asset finance continues. The specialist recovery unit is seeing a boost to its resources, while there has been a 20 per cent cut in headcount overall. Underlying pre-tax profit for the year to the end of June was up 13 per cent to £13.1m and group revenue up 27 per cent to £53.1m on a loan portfolio of £284m.
CFOs gloomy as distress continues
Optimism among UK chief financial officers (CFO) about the financial outlook has deteriorated rapidly, according to the latest Deloitte CFO Survey. Most corporates plan to reduce employee numbers and cut capital expenditure and the proportion of CFOs who say they are likely to reduce dividends has risen sharply in the last six months. Richard Bell, head of transaction services at Deloitte in the north, said: CFOs are preparing for a more prolonged period of distress in credit markets than they had expected earlier, with cost cutting and cash preservation coming to the fore. There is also a growing readiness to contemplate more radical options such as off-shoring and dividend cuts.
Two Lanes make government agency boards
Pauleen Lane, the deputy chairman of English Partnerships and an elected member of Trafford council, has this morning been confirmed as a board member of the Tenant Services Authority, which has been set up to give tenants a stronger say in how their homes are managed. The government has also announced the board for the Homes and Communities Agency, which will include former Speke Garston Development Company boss Bob Lane.
Pareto stays on track
Wilmslow-based graduate training specialist Pareto Law has said that its £5m investment in a new head office remains on track to open in the first quarter of 2009. The business, which recently won its first training contracts in the US with GFI Software and financial services firm Duff & Phelps, will move into the redeveloped George & Dragon site on Church Street. The premises will include office space for 120 staff, a training centre accommodating up to 60 delegates per day and a 20-bedroom residential training suite.
Manchesters jobless toll highest in eight years
The number of people claiming jobseekers allowance in Greater Manchester has risen to its highest level since May 2000, the fourth month in a row that the figure has increased. According to a report there were 49,440 people claiming benefits in September. However, the number of vacancies in the city has grown since August, bucking the national trend. Despite the difficult economic climate, there were 22,160 vacancies reported to Jobcentre Plus in September, a 5 per cent increase since August. Nationally the number of vacancies reported fell by 13 per cent.
Envirowise responds to green business boom
Government-funded environment programme Envirowise has reported a 22 per cent rise in visitors to its website during the period April to September, compared with the same period last year, as business interest in improving green credentials grows. To cope with a growing appetite for green business advice, Envirowise has launched a new, updated website with added features and a new interface.
Prize boost for business competition
Urban regeneration company New East Manchester has announced a major cash injection for its EnterPrize Awards Scheme, which rewards the areas most promising entrepreneurs. The competition will see prize money increase by 60 per cent to £22,000, while it will also be open to start-ups and more established firms and will run twice a year. The decision to develop the competition follows a huge response over the past two years, partly down to the success of previous EnterPrize winners.
Circle restaurant open soon
Manchesters Circle Club says that it expects its new restaurant, in the citys Barton Arcade, to be open in time for Christmas. The new restaurant will be based above the club in Barton Square and offer 72 covers in a new glass-fronted space within the Victorian arcade, itself set to undergo a revamp. It will offer a full menu from breakfast to evening meals.
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Property
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Britannia - Action at the fire station?
Britannia Hotels has appointed Purcell Miller Tritton, an architectural firm specialising in heritage buildings, as it seeks to win approval for its intended hotel scheme at Manchesters London Road fire station site. The firms James Sanderson said: Our role is currently outlined as gaining planning permission and detailed listed building consent whilst conserving many of the early 20th century features. It is likely that we will be installing a large atrium in the internal courtyard. Recent years have seen calls for the redevelopment of the site, either by Britannia or by Manchester City Council issuing a Compulsory Purchase Order.
Kingsway looks to build more
Spurred by a high level of enquiries, The Kingsway Partnership headed by Wilson Bowden has submitted a planning application for 600, 000 sq ft of industrial space at the 420-acre business park near Rochdale. The unit will include 250, 000 sq ft of mezzanine space. There are currently three units on Kingsway ready for occupation ranging in size from 19, 679 sq ft to 34, 307 sq ft through P3 Property Consultants and Jones Lang LaSalle.
Application in for MediaCity bridge
A planning application has been made for the footbridge that will link Peel Holdings MediaCity scheme at Salford Quays to the south quay in Trafford, where the Imperial War Museum North stands. Architects Bennetts Associates and Wilkinson Eyre, together with engineering consultant Gifford, have worked on the designs for a movable cable-stayed bridge.
Warrington scheme wins national award
The Gateway, a Warrington development housing voluntary and charitable agencies, has won the national Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Community Benefit Award 2008. The scheme, which houses the Citizens Advice Bureau, Warrington Housing Association and various other community facilities, won the RICS regional heat last year.
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Events
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Dates for your diary this week
The official launch of Manchester’s latest hotel, the Crowne Plaza on Shudehill, is to take place on Tuesday evening. If that’s not enough excitement, George Davis Solicitors is holding a seminar on pensions and staff restructuring from 8am on Thursday at the Marriott Hotel in Hale. Later on the same day the Institute of Directors North West and Business Link Northwest will host a seminar on growth and exit strategies for small and medium-sized companies at the Red Rose Hub, next to the Business Link headquarters in Preston.
Regional manufacturing in the global age
As the region’s manufacturers battle with economic uncertainty and rising costs, Insider and manufacturers’ organisation EEF are organising a breakfast summit in Lancashire - home of some of the UK’s biggest manufacturers - to discuss the future of manufacturing. Being held on 23 October at 7.30am, the breakfast event at Stanley House in Mellor will feature an expert panel who will tackle key issues for the region’s manufacturing base: Lee Hopley, head of economic policy at EEF; Andrew Jones, managing director of Klarius; Andrew Brian, managing director of Optare; and Phil Humphreys, director of supply chain strategy for Military Air Solutions at BAE. Places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. For further information on the event, please contact our events team on 0161 907 9723 or email lucie.knight@newsco.com.
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Contact Us
Insider
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17-21 Chorlton Street
Manchester
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Telephone: +44 (0)161 907 9711
Email: nw@insiderdaily.co.uk |
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