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Top story
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Greater cooperation will help high street survive
North West retailers need to focus ruthlessly on cash and cost bases over the coming months if they are to survive the current slump. Speaking at PriceswaterhouseCoopers' (PwC) annual Christmas retail trading update, held at the Chill Factore in Manchester this morning, corporate finance partner Stuart McKee said retailers must cooperate better with external parties, like banks and credit insurers, to make sure they take decisions based on reality rather than hearsay. “We expect 2009 to see a significant level of retailers refinancing or restructuring as the difficult economic conditions continue,” he said. “We anticipate that this will lead to a need for a ruthless focus on cash and cost base, increased cooperation throughout the value chain and significant caution in forward buying and store portfolio expansion.” PwC’s trading update revealed that strong trading by discount chains and food retailers over the Christmas period couldn’t mask the gloom experienced by the rest of the high street. Home product, jewellery and big ticket retailers have been most affected.
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Deals
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UMIP fund down
The UMIP Premier Fund, set up by the University of Manchester last year to invest in spin-out companies, is set to close short of its original £50m target. Mark Rahn, investment manager at fund manager MTI, confirmed that raising money had become more difficult in the current climate but stressed what had already been achieved since the first close of £32m in April 2008. “We have made three investments at a total of nearly £2m, so are moving in the right direction,” he said. "This shows that the fund is viable and doing its work in the North West economy.” Final close for the fund will be in March and “expectations have been lowered”. The final figure is expected to be nearer £40m.
AIM will consolidate, says Houghton
The next 12 months will be a period of consolidation on AIM as listed businesses look to strengthen their position. The prediction comes from Gary Houghton, partner and head of capital markets at accountancy firm Baker Tilly, who believes mergers and acquisitions will be necessary to get through 2009. “The current year is likely to be marked by few initial public offerings but with further delistings, mergers and a consolidation of companies within AIM, which could be healthy for the market as it will help lead to renewed strength in 2010,” he said. At the end of 2008 there were 1,550 companies on AIM, compared with 1,694 a year earlier, with total market capitalisation down 59 per cent to £37.7bn.
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Business
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Wine and dine
Food and drink umbrella organisation Food Northwest is next month publishing the NW Food Lover’s Guide, a 260-page guide to some of the finest speciality foods in the country. The region is home to some of the country’s most famous foods from cheeses, cakes and chutneys to real ales, sausages and ice creams. The book provides a detailed guide to producers and outlets, giving full contact and availability details.
Court move welcomed
Business leaders and professionals in the North West have welcomed the move to bring the Administrative Court to Manchester, following the official launch event at the city’s Civil Justice Centre last night. Peter Heginbotham, senior partner at Davis Blank Furniss and president of Manchester Chamber, said: “In many cases involving public law the claimants and the defendants are all based in the region, and there is good expertise in the North West to handle this kind of work.” Colin Sinclair, chief executive at MIDAS, added: “This decision is great news for Manchester, which now has a large, well-established legal sector. The Administrative Court will deliver work for our highly skilled solicitors and barristers, as well as providing our communities and local authorities with a vastly improved, more efficient service.”
New path for Axon
Axon IT, based in Macclesfield, is diversifying its business model by launching a specialist telecoms service designed to cater for small and medium-sized companies. From March the company will offer installation of telephony hardware and software in addition to its existing arm of outsourced IT services. Director Graham Fern said: “When supplying IT services to businesses with new office space, we invariably are asked to recommend a telecoms provider. This service will operate in parallel.” Axon will partner with equipment supplier Avaya for the move and phone lines will be supplied by Intelligent Networks.
Appointments at The Hut
Online entertainment retailer The Hut, based in Northwich, has recruited Anuraag Jain as IT director from Betfair.com and Dominic Starkey from Littlewoods Football Pools as head of ecommerce. Appointments have also been made in the design and customer services teams, and Darren Rajanah takes up the role of head of finance, joining from the Caudwell Group.
Making food travel further
Scientists at the University of Manchester are developing sensors that could reduce the millions of tonnes of food that are wasted on their journey around the world through exposure to extreme heat or humidity. Scientists at the University’s Sygenta Sensors University Innovation Centre, in the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, are developing low-cost radio frequency identification sensors that could provide real-time information about produce. Data could then be analysed at various stages of the journey using fixed data readers at warehouses, distribution centres or airports. Government chief scientific adviser Professor John Beddington is visiting the faculty today.
Mandelson to headline Cumbria summit
Secretary of state for business, enterprise and regulatory reform Lord Mandelson is to be the keynote speaker at the Cumbria Economic Summit 2009. He will address 250 delegates from the public and private sectors at Sellafield Visitors Centre on 20 February. The event is being staged by Cumbria Vision and the Northwest Regional Development Agency to showcase progress over the past 12 months and highlight future plans to transform Cumbria into one of the fastest growing economies in the UK.
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Property
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KDC signs in Sharston at record rent
KDC Contractors has signed up for unit 1 Sharston Green, a new 28,000 sq ft distribution and production unit on the A560, close to Manchester Airport. The Denton-based demolition specialist will pay £6.25 per sq ft, a record for the area. CB Richard Ellis and King Sturge acted as joint agents for a fund managed by Scottish Widows Investment Partnership. KDC was sold to its management team for £12.5m in April 2008 in a deal backed by Barclays Ventures.
PAG goes green in Leigh
The second of Property Alliance Group’s sustainable office concept, The Green, has been granted planning consent at a site off the East Lancs Road in Leigh, Greater Manchester. The 80,000 sq ft scheme will consist of four detached office buildings within the Hope Carr Nature Reserve. The first Green scheme to win consent is in Bury.
Trust adds to Ashton space
Ask Developments has completed its deal with Pennine Care NHS Trust to let a further 1,009 sq ft to the trust at St Petersfield in Ashton-under-Lyne. The trust already occupies 28,000 sq ft at 1 Henry Square, where other tenants include charity Shaw Trust and recruitment firm TNG.
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