Cheshire property developer Eatonfield has raised £300,000 through a share placing that should provide it with enough working capital until mid-September. Half of the 30,000,000 new ordinary shares have been placed with Jason Lloyd, the son of Eatonfield’s founder Rob Lloyd. Finance director Duncan Syers has taken 800,000 shares. In a statement to the Stock Exchange, the AIM-listed company said it is continuing to seek further funding and is confident that additional funding will be made available to the group.

Flexibility will be key for interactive gaming company NetPlayTV if it is to improve revenues generated through its TV gaming formats, the company announced this morning. In an update to the Stock Exchange on the performance of interactive gaming channel Challenge Jackpot and the Bingo Stars game broadcast on Virgin 1, STV and ITV, the Lancaster business said “revenue flowing from these instant game players has been much lower than anticipated”. In the year to 31 December, the company reported a pre-tax loss of £11m against sales of £21.6m.

Chemicals company Ineos Group, which owns the Ineos Chlor plant in Runcorn, has posted lower revenues and widening losses for the 12 months to 31 December. Revenues fell to €18bn from €29bn previously, while losses for the year increased from €572.6m to €615.1m. Since the year end, the group has disposed of its Runcorn-based Ineos Fluor business to Mexichem Fluor and proposed to amend its €6.8bn debt to allow a €1bn loan and bond refinancing. It has also moved its headquarters to Switzerland to save £100m a year in tax.

The annual Food Northwest Awards took place in Manchester last night, with Cranstons Cumbrian Food Hall in Penrith taking the prize for Food Northwest Excellence. The company was praised for its “unique and extensive range of food and drink”, following its £1m makeover last year. Other winners included preserve maker Clippy Apples, based in Sale, which was named Outstanding SME, and the Barrow-based Northern School for Asian and Oriental Cookery, which scooped the Skills award.

Lancaster recycling business ShP has signed a “multimillion pound” deal to offer what it claims is the first ever mobile phone recycling service to the Middle East. The company, which owns the Mopay.co.uk brand, has partnered with electrical retail chain Emax to launch the Cash for Mobiles service. Customers will be able to bring an old phone into an Emax store and have it assessed and exchanged for cash. Co-founder Simon Walsh said the company hoped to have recycled three million phones in the Middle East by 2013.

Manchester entrepreneur Scott Woodhead has launched a new online venture called LovingOutdoors.co.uk. The site will sell a range of outdoor products from brands including Garmin, Timex and Coleman. It will aim to “break the barriers” between social media and e-commerce. Woodhead said: “We have taken advantage of the growing social media community to offer a website, which allows outdoor enthusiasts to come together and interact with each other.”

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High street bakery chain Greggs is to open another 20 stores across the North West as part of its drive to open 90 stores across the UK during the year. Property agent Mason Owen has been instructed to acquire the premises as part of the expansion plans. So far the company has acquired shops in Mold, Southport, Glossop, Llandudno, Manchester, St Annes and Altrincham, with terms agreed on a further five properties. It is also in negotiations on a further ten properties.

This week’s highlight came, not surprisingly, at the Food Northwest Awards, with a mini-Full English breakfast stealing the show – a circle of white toast topped with black pudding, egg and bacon flakes. Sadly our man failed to get to the Royal Mill office launch on Wednesday morning, missing out on oak smoked bacon and Cumberland sausage butties from Pickled Walnut. New East Manchester’s Steve Thorncroft bossed the table football, which was refereed by “soccerettes”. A bad event to miss.