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Darwen-based aerospace manufacturer Brookhouse has been acquired by US group Kaman Aerospace for £43m. The move is seen as an important step in realising the company's ambitious growth strategy and in Kaman furthering its goals in the aerostructures sector. Brookhouse was the subject of a management buyout backed by the Manchester office of Aberdeen Murray Johnstone Private Equity in 2004 and rumours of a potential sale surfaced earlier this year. 
Rosebud funds arts centre A new arts centre has opened in Skelmersdale thanks to a funding package from the Rosebud Finance, a financial support service established by Lancashire County Council. The Engine Rooms, renovated from a disused warehouse by entrepreneurs James Furnell and James Hoy, now offers a recording studio, a café and space for art exhibitions. The award-winning Rosebud Finance has so far helped more than 300 businesses. Any profit and income made by it is used to provide further investment opportunities for new clients.
Manchester-based stockbroker WH Ireland has appointed a new chief executive, following the acquisition of what is now a 27.4 per cent stake in the firm by a consortium of City investors over April and May, when former LIFFE director Rupert Lowe became chairman of the firm. Richard Ford, partner and chief operating office of Spence House Capital Management, is set to take over the role in November from Laurie Beevers, who will become executive deputy chairman and continue to have particular responsibility for stockbroking operations at the firm. Beevers arrived at WH Ireland alongside David Youngman in 1995.
Energos wins national renewable award Salford-based Energos, part of the Ener-g group, has been named developer of the year at the annual Renewable Energy Association Awards held in London. It won the award for its £8m gasification plant on the Isle of White, the first in the UK to operate solely on energy generated from non-recyclable household waste. The community-sized plant, set to open in July, will be able to generate enough electricity to power 3,000 homes. Energos already has six plants operating across Norway and Germany and has applied for planning permission to build a similar small-scale facility in Knowsley.
Lancaster University helps to boost businesses A report published by Lancaster University has revealed that it created almost 200 jobs and helped to boost sales in the hundreds of businesses that it worked with between January 2006 and December 2007. From a sample of 242 enterprises, the average increase in sales was 167 per cent, while for every £1 of grant money spent by the university, between £2.40 and £4.30 of extra sales were generated by the businesses. The findings are being announced in the Innovation, Knowledge Exchange & Higher Education report unveiled at the university's Leadership Centre today.
Natural Events launches in Manchester An eco-friendly events management and consultancy agency has opened its first premises in Manchester. Natural Events, launched in April by managing director Charlie Banks, specialises in planning green events for small and medium-sized businesses looking to reduce their carbon footprint. She told Insider that the agency will fill a gap that currently exists in the market. "There are a lot of companies that are looking to develop their CSR but are unaware of what things they can do. We can help lower the environmental impact of an event, without compromising on quality," she said.
Big day for clearing up carbon As the business community starts to gear up for a world in which carbon costs, two announcements highlight the political pressure to change. Lord Nicholas Stern, author of the UK's Stern report on climate change, is today launching a new carbon credit ratings agency, which will score carbon credits in a similar way to the way in which debt is rated. The agency, run by IdeaCarbon, will offer investors rigorous analysis of the risk-profile of individual carbon assets and portfolios. Meanwhile, the government-established Carbon Trust yesterday launched a new campaign challenging businesses and the public sector to achieve a new Carbon Trust Standard certificate as the only way for organisations to prove they are tackling climate change and have made genuine reductions in their carbon emissions. The University of Central Lancashire is among the organisations to have received the certificate to date.
SmartLife set for expansion Medical research company SmartLife Technology has announced plans to roll out its flagship product in a bid to push sales past £10m by 2012. The HealthVest, which can measure an individual's temperature, respiration and heart rate, was originally developed at the University of Manchester before SmartLife acquired the intellectual property rights. Chief executive Mark Pedley said the vest could reduce the need for patients to have to go to hospital for tests, enabling health authorities to save millions of pounds. The company sees the US market as its primary route to growth.
Cropper corrects James Cropper, the Kendal-based paper company quoted on AIM, yesterday afternoon issued a correction to the morning's preliminary results in which it had incorrectly stated that turnover had risen 12 per cent. The actual increase was 5 per cent.
Priority Sites has completed its £14m Vesty Business Park in Bootle. The site comprises 17 industrial units, ranging in size from 3,000 sq ft to 28,000 sq ft and four hybrid units ranging in size from 3,500 sq ft to 4,000 sq ft. The scheme also incorporates 46 roof-mounted wind turbines, along with a landmark 26m free-standing turbine, which together will provide 10 per cent of the development's entire energy supply.
CB Richard Ellis appointed for Bootle scheme Property consultancy CB Richard Ellis has been appointed as managing and letting agent for The Investment Centre in Bootle. The £6m public-funded venture is set for completion in July and will offer 25,172 sq ft of grade A office space. South Sefton Economic Regeneration Team and South Sefton Development Trust have already signed up as the building's first tenants. The project forms part of Sefton Council's Atlantic Gateway regeneration programme, which was launched in 2003.
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