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Top story
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Speedy buys again
Merseyside-based equipment hire giant Speedy Hire has acquired the accommodation business of Carillion Asset Management, which hires and sells portable and modular units. The two parties, who have entered into a partnership agreement, said the aggregate cash consideration is £11m together with £1.5m of liabilities under operating and finance leases. Working capital and cash are not being acquired with the assets. Speedy Hire has just posted revenues of £465.5m for 2008 on £335.5m in 2007. EBITDA has also jumped 31 per cent to £131.6m. Shares in the Newton-le-Willows business climbed more than 2 per cent to 696 pence this morning.
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Vitaflo provides MSIF with bumper return
Liverpool-based nutritional products company Vitaflo has received a £16m refinancing package from Clydesdale Bank and Merseyside Special Investment Fund (MSIF). The deal, which also involves the directors' own investment, will allow for the exit of non-management shareholders, including MSIF's First Venture and Mezzanine Funds following their initial investment of £500,000 in 1998. The £6.6m taken out by MSIF makes it the firm's largest return on investment, while the £3m it is putting back in is its largest single investment. 
Quarry on regardless
A Chorley-based quarry company has been sold to new business Thomas Williams (Euxton) Holdings for an undisclosed sum. Thomas Williams (Euxton) operates gravel and sand pits, quarrying and tipping services as well as selling mineral extracts from the quarries. Former shareholders have sold the entire issued share capital and have retired from the business. Napthens, DWF, Hamilton Gee Partnership and Champion Accountants advised.
Paver craves more as Factory deal completes
Liverpool PR agency Paver Smith is chasing further acquisitions to boost its business after the deal to absorb local rival Factory Communications completed yesterday. Dougal Paver, managing director of Paver Smith, said: "This is a welcome milestone towards building real scale into our business. We are in early talks with three other agencies that each bring something different to the table and hope we can conclude at least one further acquisition by the autumn."
Wooden it be nice
Macclesfield-based wood products manufacturer WTL International has been bought out of administration by local wood recycling company Boden & Davies in a deal funded by The Royal Bank of Scotland. WTL's shareholders and senior management team will exit the business, but the rest of the company's employees will remain.
Myconostica secures £1m funding
Manchester-based medical diagnostics company Myconostica has received the first slug of funding from the UMIP Premier Fund - a joint venture between MTI Partners and The University of Manchester. Myconostica, which specialises in tests for life-threatening fungal infections, has been given £1m to support the launch of the company's first two products.
Masters of the universe
Preston-based print business Bernard Kaymar has been acquired by Masterobjective. Bernard Kaymar employs 19 staff and has a turnover of £1.2m, while Masterobjective was founded seven years ago by Paul Bailey to invest in and provide financial consultancy services to small manufacturing companies across the North West. Tenon advised.
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To good health
Shares in Ascribe, the Bolton-based supplier of IT healthcare systems, have risen slightly after the group announced an increase in sales for its web-based hospital pharmacy system in the UK and Asian markets. In April 2008 the group was successful in its bid to win accreditation to provide Clinical Information Technology (CIT) services through the NHS's National Program for IT.
If it's Rudd enough for you
Manchester stockbroker WH Ireland has named Roland Rudd as a non-executive director. Rudd, a co-founder of financial PR group Finsbury, is a member of the consortium that has bought a 25.1 per cent stake in the business in a deal that has been criticised as not acting in shareholders' best interests. Rudd is also a non-executive director of Breakingviews and chairs the NSPCC's Stop Organised Abuse campaign and the Tate's corporate advisory body.
English success to continue, says Deloitte man
With the 17th edition of Deloitte's Annual Review of Football Finance to be published tomorrow, the accountancy group's Paul Rawnsley has predicted continued success for English football. At Insider's Business of Sport summit at the Bridgewater Hall, he said: "Time after time people say the bubble's about to burst - we've lost count. The Premier League's appeal in the rest of the world is greater than that of its rival competitions and, while it continues to distribute those revenues more fairly than Spain or Italy, that should remain the case."
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Argent presses on at Piccadilly
Carlyle and developer Argent have started work on Four Piccadilly Place, a 110,000 sq ft grade A office development. The scheme also includes the City Inn hotel and GMPTE's headquarters, as well as the Hub apartments and the 200,000 sq ft Three Piccadilly Place, which will be finished later this year. Argent has also hired James Nicholson, formerly of CLS Holdings and fit-out group TSK, to head the Elisabeth House development in Manchester's St Peter's Square - a joint venture with Greater Manchester Property Venture Fund.
McLean blames credit crunch for lay-offs
Troubled property group David McLean has announced a corporate restructuring programme that it says will result in about 30 redundancies. The Flintshire-headquartered business, which has ambitious mixed-use development projects across the UK, said: "The widely reported issues in the financial arena have made this situation unavoidable. In the present climate we must take these steps now to ensure we operate in the most efficient way possible to maintain our strong position."
Davies Harrison lands UTI
Niche industrial agent Davies Harrison has secured the first tenant for its client ING Real Estate at the second phase of Merlin Park in Trafford Park. UTI Logistics has agreed a ten-year lease at £5.50 per sq ft for the largest unit, which is 62,000 sq ft. Phase two of Merlin Park is 126,000 sq ft of brand new warehousing and was bought by ING from Beva Investments.
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