Education and activity travel group Holidaybreak has secured support for 98.5 per cent of shares offered under the £33m rights issue announced in June. The Cheshire-based company plans to use the money to make acquisitions under the PGL banner to boost its education portfolio. KBC Peel Hunt will continue to procure subscribers for the balance of 334,309 shares not yet taken up.

BMW motorbike business Chester Motorrad has secured a £150,000 finance package from Barclays to improve its existing premises with the addition of a new showroom. The company now employs four staff and has expanded the product range since taking over the franchise in 2008. Relationship manager Amanda Thompson said the bank had a strong appetite to provide funding to quality businesses.

News today that the UK government tax take is down by £32bn has increased fears that tax rises are on their way and a likely target will be a capital gains tax hike. In his weekly Deals In Focus column Michael Taylor asks whether this will lead to an acceleration of business sales to avoid the tax hike. Click here for more.

The sports team at JMW Solicitors are acting for up-and-coming Manchester boxer John Murray. JMW's sports law team, led by former professional footballer Ben Haworth, will advise the undefeated lightweight on issues relating to sponsorship, merchandising and endorsement deals. Haworth and his team are sponsors of Insider's Business of Sport Summit, taking place in Manchester on 9 September 2009 at the Bridgewater Hall. Speakers include Ian Drake, the chief executive of UK Cycling and Ben Gallop of BBC Sport.

Brammer, the industrial parts distributor based in Wythenshawe, said today that first-half sales declined due to the tough trading conditions, but it expects to boost its market share in the second half with a number of contract wins. The business revealed that sales per working day were down 17.8 per cent for the six months to 30 June, excluding the benefits of currency and acquisitions. It added that, following a number of cost-cutting measures, it expects sales, distribution and administration costs to be £6m lower for the first half and £12m less for the full year.

Leading thinker Daniel Goleman says the application of his ideas on emotional intelligence are as relevant as ever, despite the economic downturn. Speaking to Insider, Goleman said the traditional measure of intelligence (IQ) is far too narrow to harness the range of capabilities people possess. It is emotional intelligence (EQ) that is increasingly relevant to organisational development and developing people. "EQ is not about being nice, it's about communicating effectively, even in tough times," he said. Insider is partner in the Science of Success management conference to be hosted by Manchester Business School on Tuesday 15 September 2009 at which Goleman and Malcolm Gladwell will offer extraordinary insights into the unconventional reasons behind exceptional leadership and unparalleled success. For further information on the event and discounted rates for Insider readers, click here.

Bell Pottinger North has won a contract to handle the account of LapCabby, a company that provides the technology to store and charge laptop computers in the classroom. It will launch a campaign to highlight the robustness of the product and also its cost effectiveness. Bell Pottinger North director John Butters said: "The devices house between ten and 40 computers and more than 8,000 of them are already used in classrooms across Britain."

Toast PR has announced plans to open an office in Manchester as it looks to boost its presence in the region. The agency, which has offices in Nottingham and Bloomsbury, plans to recruit an additional member of staff to boost its North West team. Toast already has a number of clients in the north, including iTeddy founder Imran Hakim and soft drinks brand Ben Shaws in Huddersfield. Founder Julia Mitchell said: "It seems the ideal place to expand Toast PR which has performed well over the past year despite the economic downturn. Our continuing success is testament to the quality and standards of the work our team does for clients in both the North West and further afield."

A national scheme called Village SOS has been set up by enterprise campaign group Make Your Mark with the help of BBC One and the Big Lottery Fund, challenging people to revamp their local communities. The search is on for budding North West entrepreneurs to become champion for their chosen village, which they would attempt to revitalise and improve using a budget of £400,000. A total of six champions will be chosen from a shortlist of 18 villages in each region. With an annual salary of £30,000, these champions would live and work in their village for a year.

Entrepreneurs Richard Appleby and Daniel Kirkham have announced plans to launch a new social networking site in Liverpool from September aimed at tourists and new residents to the city. The site, called new2thecity.com, will be developed by Stockport communication agency STAN and detail places to visit, vouchers and events. "Students, tourists and travellers, those new to the city were under-represented by other sites," said Kirkham. "We felt they needed a forum, an anchor in unfamiliar places."

Retail property consultancy Tushingham Moore has appointed Andrea George to its retail team. George, previously head of Markham Vaughan Gillingham‘s Manchester office for four years prior to its acquisition by Knight Frank, will specialise in high-end fashion. Partner David Moore said: “We believe that Andrea will be a great asset to the business and is the perfect candidate to give a completely new dimension to our existing offering through her strong reputation and intimate knowledge of the fashion and leisure market.”

With 12 per cent of high street shops now vacant, Bury and Chester have been included in the British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) 20 case studies of places driving forward retail through proactive initiatives. The 21st Century High Streets: A new vision for our town centres report, released today, sets out a 20-point plan for long-term growth. Director-general Stephen Robertson said: “High streets are crucial but many are in trouble, facing difficulties that began well before the current recession. It cannot be left to chance – these processes need to be actively managed.”

Wyre Council has given outline planning consent for the redevelopment of a three-acre former chicken processing site near Garstang into a £5m business park. Lancashire developer Cobre, a vehicle of Downtown Living directors Harry Coar and Frank Bretherton, plans to transform the site, already home to Coar’s Country Stores, into an office scheme of up to 27,000 sq ft. Preston-based Morgan Martin has been appointed selling agent. The scheme is designed by Frank Whittle Partnership.

Workspace manager Bizspace is looking to work with owners and developers of empty commercial buildings in the North West as it looks to add to its network of 25 business centres in the region. Operations director Emma Long said: “The recession has not dented demand for flexible managed workspace. While we have traditionally purchased all of our office, workshop, light industrial and storage properties, we are now looking to work with those owners of vacant commercial buildings to find new tenants.”

A report by GVA Grimley commissioned by the Cheshire & Warrington Economic Alliance has identified 13 priority employment sites in the area. They are: Birchwood Park; Capenhurst; Cheshire Oaks; Crewe rail gateway; Crewe town centre; East of Quakers Coppice and Crewe Business Park; Northwich’s Lostock Triangle; Midpoint 18 in Middlewich; Pioneer Park in Ellesmere Port; South Bostock Road in Winsford; the Countess of Chester hospital; Woolston Grange in Warrington; and the 61MU site in Handforth.

MAG Developments, the development arm of Manchester Airport Group, has secured Viking Airlines as the latest tenant at Manchester’s World Freight Terminal. The new deal is for a three-year lease at £9.95 per sq ft for a recently refurbished 4,015 sq ft unit, the final one of four refurbished units to go in recent months, following deals with PODs Cargo and CEVA (UK). Established in 2001, MAG Developments is responsible for property management and development across all four airports in the group.