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Taylor Wimpey battens down the hatches
The regional office of troubled housebuilder Taylor Wimpey is set to close following the announcement that the company is to shut 13 of its 39 offices across the country. George Wimpey North West, which is based in Northwich, has sites in Wales, Cheshire, Merseyside and Lancashire, but these will be absorbed by George Wimpey Manchester, Insider understands. "It's unfortunate, but we had to do this to protect our business in the long term," said a source at the company. On Monday Taylor Wimpey, which employs around 4,700 people across the UK, entered into a 30-day consultation period to determine the detail of the plans, the possible redeployment of some staff and the reallocation of sites across its other businesses. The firm reported a pre-tax loss of £19.5m in 2007, against profits of £405.6m a year earlier.
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Swinton buys again
Manchester insurance retailer Swinton continues to blaze the acquisition trail after buying broker Moneyway from Secure Trust Bank. The addition of 13 branches paves the way for further consolidation in the insurance market and strengthens the Swinton estate to over 470 branches nationwide. Moneyway, which previously traded under the Secure Direct banner, has a high street presence in the West Midlands, providing personal and commercial insurance to over 28,000 customers. 
Elaine rescues Ethel
Troubled Merseyside retailer Ethel Austin has been bought out of administration by Elaine McPherson. The former chief executive of fashion chain MK One acquired the company after buying its £25m debt from a syndicate of banks, including Credit Suisse, ABN Amro and US lender EOS. McPherson will carry out a review of the business, but has pledged to only close 13 branches, rather than the 33 that had originally been announced.
Reflec to sell security business
Reflec, the Winsford-based maker of reflective printing inks, has scrapped plans to expand further into the world of security and put its 64 per cent-owned subsidiary Perseus Consulting up for sale in order to protect the profitability of the group. It said that it will allow the business to trade for a further three months while it explores options for the sale. The group's Reflec Evolution and Reflec Media businesses continue to trade profitably and Reflec USA is following its normal trading pattern.
The Hills are alive
Oldham-based furniture business Hills Panel Products has been bought by two of the company's directors in a multimillion-pound deal. Stephen Hill, managing director, and Martin Hill, operations director, have bought out their sister, Deborah Martin, and father Malcolm. The company, which employs 125 staff, clocked pre-tax profits of £622,000 in 2007. Funding was provided by Handelsbanken.
PCT expands and looks for more
Manchester-based PCT Healthcare has acquired two pharmacies in South Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire. PCT, which is managed by founders Peter Cattee, Jane Cattee, Geoff Tims and Andy Parker, owns almost 50 pharmacy outlets across the North West, Midlands and Yorkshire. These acquisitions are thought to be the start of a deal-driven year for the firm as it pursues its aggressive growth plans. Rowlands advised.
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Manchester's big six to bring in £20m
Andrew Stokes, chief executive of Marketing Manchester, says that the city is well on course to beat its economic impact targets for sporting events in 2008. Speaking at Insider's Business of Sport summit last week, Stokes said: "There's been some real âfinger in the air' numbers bandied about, but our assessment from the hard data is that the UEFA Cup final will be closer to £10m than the £5m target, while the six Manchester World Sport 08 events combined will exceed £20m, against a target of £16.6m." Following the final, city council leader Sir Richard Leese told Insider: "Despite the problems in Piccadilly Gardens this has largely been a great success and we will continue to bid for major events."
MoD boosts Barrow
The North West's defence sector, led by VT Group and BAE Systems, is poised to embrace new contracts following the Ministry of Defence's approval for the development of two âsuper aircraft carriers'. HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, which are due to enter service in 2014 and 2016, will be the largest surface warships ever constructed in the UK. Steven Broomhead, chief executive of the Northwest Regional Development Agency, said "This takes us a step closer to getting this important project off the drawing board and into the shipyards, and into the hands of our skilled workers in places such as Barrow-in-Furness."
Embrace globalisation - Tesco boss tells professionals
Sir Terry Leahy, the chief executive of Tesco, told the Pro.Manchester annual dinner at Manchester's Midland Hotel last night that businesses must face globalisation and turn it to their advantage. "Embracing globalisation's challenge has enabled us to pass those who did not," he said, referring to Sainsbury and Marks & Spencer. Leahy also used examples of how he is applying this strategy in three other organisations with which he is involved: Everton Football Club, the city of Liverpool and the University of Manchester.
Eddie conquers Scotland
Stobart Group and Tesco have completed a deal that will see the Cumbrian freight group provide a second dedicated rail freight service for the retailer. The new service will run from Grangemouth to Inverness, using Tesco's new distribution centre in Livingston. The contract, initially for five years and valued at £15m, will run six days a week and will replace over 13,000 lorry journeys each year.
Formation trading ahead of expectations
AIM-listed Formation Group has said trading is ahead of expectations in the first half of its financial year, with pre-tax profit rising to £1.76m for the six months to 29 February compared with £330,000 for the same period last year. Revenue was up to £12.76m from £3.03m. The Hale Barns-based management company, which advises sports and show business stars and other high net-worth individuals, said it will remain focused on acquiring complementary businesses.
JJB reports losses, but Ronnie points to growth
Wigan retailer JJB Sports has reported group revenue for the 13 weeks to 27 April 2008 at 8.3 per cent lower than the same period in 2007. Revenue was down 6.5 per cent in retail stores, but up 5 per cent at the group's health clubs. The figures bear out chief executive Chris Ronnie's comments at Insider's Business of Sport summit last week. He said: "We'll open 14 more health centres this year. In the stores we've refurbished, like-for-like sales are up 20 per cent. We need to create a whole new JJB."
API posts pre-tax losses
Stockport-based API Group, a manufacturer of specialised materials for the packaging industry, has posted a pre-tax loss of £7.1m in the 18 months to 31 March on revenues of £143.8m. The company spoke of lower demand in the US and said it would focus on costs and debt reduction in the year ahead, as well as product and sales development. On a brighter note it said that it had seen the start of a turnaround in its trading performance during the last six months, while £2.4m had been saved after an overhead cost reduction programme.
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Saints go marching in, despite retailers row
Rugby league club St Helens is to get its new 18,000-capacity stadium following planning consent granted yesterday to a mixed-use scheme by Langtree, Taylor Wimpey and Tesco on the 46-acre former United Glass site. The club reacted angrily earlier this week to a campaign by Morrison's. The Yorkshire-based grocer, which has two stores in the town, is reported to have sent letters to residents urging them to oppose the scheme on planning grounds.
Vision for Atlantic
North Liverpool business park Atlantic Park has its first major occupier in registered social landlord One Vision Housing, which has bought the freehold of the 35,000 sq ft Atlantic House from the Mason family. Although this 1.4-acre plot isn't part of Royal London Asset Management's wider Atlantic Park scheme, the deal, Merseyside's largest out-of-town transaction this year, gives impetus to a scheme in need of a boost following the announcement by Rolls-Royce that it plans to close down its operations there.
Brilliant!
Media communications agency Brilliant Media has relocated to the Bauhaus office scheme on Manchester's Quay Street. Advised by Edwards & Co, the agency has taken a ten-year lease on 3,555 sq ft of the ground floor at £27.50 a sq ft. Lambert Smith Hampton acted on behalf of landlord Blackrock.
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