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Top story
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£530m project needed to redress North-South imbalance – Network Rail
Graham Botham, the programme sponsor for Network Rail's £530m Northern Hub project, has emphasised the urgent need for rail service improvement in the North, amid suspicions the region has been overlooked on infrastructure decisions in favour of London and the South East. Meanwhile, Liverpool Chamber of Commerce chief executive Jack Stopforth is backing Insider's campaign for rail improvements claiming train travel between the North West's two biggest cities was "probably quicker in 1830 than it is today".
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Deals
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K3 buys chunk of Cardiff company
Manchester-based software business K3 Business Technology has bought parts of Cardiff-headquartered FD Systems for £1.25m. K3 has acquired FD's Sage 200 business unit with £950,000 payable on completion and £300,000 to be paid on 28 February.
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BSI bought for £42.5m
Outsourcing company Capita Group has bought hotel booking and meetings management agency BSI for £42.5m as part of a series of deals announced this morning. BSI has about 300 employees in Cheadle, Nottingham, Taunton and London.
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Devil Fish Poker bought for £330,000
Devil Fish Poker, a subsidiary of Cheshire online gaming operator Devilfish Gaming, has been bought by Doncaster-based The Weather Lottery for £330,000. The acquisition is conditional upon the admission of £290,000 worth of acquisition shares to trading on AIM.
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ENER-G acquires energy control business
Salford-based carbon technology business ENER-G has bought East Sussex-based SmartHome Controls. The move aims to give ENER-G a foot in the residential energy controls market.
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Jacobs swoops for Aker business
Jacobs Engineering Group has bought Aker Solutions’ process and construction business, which includes its Warrington and Whitehaven operations, for an undisclosed sum.
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Northern shares up amid takeover speculation
Shares in Northern Foods have risen by 7.4 per cent after the Leeds-headquartered food producer confirmed the interest of Harry Ramsden owner Ranjit Boparan in a possible takeover. The involvement of Boparan has prompted speculation he will launch a £300m counter bid to rival Northern's proposed merger with Greencore.
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Business
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Mace & Jones cleared in negligence case
The High Court has dismissed a £40m negligence claim brought against North West law firm Mace & Jones. After a trial in the Technology and Construction Court before Mr Justice Coulson, judgement was handed down in D Morgan PLC v Mace & Jones in which the judge rejected any negligence causative of loss and found no merit in the claim for loss of profits. The claim related to planning issues surrounding the Bold Heath Quarry site in St Helens.
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Property
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Six more sign up for Ashton Arcades
Six new lettings have been announced at the Ashton Arcades shopping centre in Ashton-under-Lyne by asset manager Hark Group. Book store The Works, fashion retailer Quiz and fashion menswear store Duffer are among those that have signed up.
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Bolton Gate Retail Park snapped up
The Bolton Gate Retail Park has been bought by London-based property company Delancey as part of a reported £900m deal.
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Other News
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Co-operative Estates finds its Range in Stoke
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North/south divide for insolvencies
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SMEs account for half of UK’s total business turnover - study
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Pension burden 'nightmare' awaits North West businesses - RSM Tenon
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