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The latest survey from the CBI and PricewaterhouseCoopers has revealed the impact of the credit crunch has worsened over the past quarter, with profitability in the UK financial services industry falling at a record pace. The deals market could continue at its current slow pace for some time, as the Financial Services Survey showed that credit remained expensive and in short supply, with the gap between lending and borrowing rates widening more than at any time in the survey's history. Although the credit crunch has already been underway for around ten months, 91 per cent of businesses surveyed thought it will take more than six months for market conditions to return to normal. Ian McCafferty, chief economic adviser at the CBI, said: "Although credit markets have been somewhat calmer of late, the interbank lending system is still looking gummed up and spreads have widened more than at any time in the past 18 years." 
Lord of the Manor Cumbrian hotel Appleby Manor Country House has changed hands in a £1.5m deal, funded by The Royal Bank of Scotland. The 19th century property has been acquired by husband and wife team Mike and Angela Dunbobbin following the retirement of Mike's parents and major shareholders Ronnie and Marjorie Dunbobbin. Appleby Manor has 31 bedrooms and was named Small Hotel of the Year at the 2008 Cumbria Tourist Awards in April.
Regenesis, a specialist short-term finance group headed by Braemar Group founder Marc Duschenes and former Pro.Manchester chief executive John Barnacle, has applied to delist from AIM, citing the credit crunch and the £100,000 per annum cost of being a quoted company as reasons for the move. The group has been unable to raise sufficient equity to keep its market capitalisation and its liquidity at an acceptable level and has been unable to renew its banking facilities under suitable terms, which further restricts its ability to make short-term, secured loans. Final results for 2007 posted on Friday showed a loss of £413,000, although current trading is in line with directors' expectations and the group is still on the lookout for suitable banking facilities.
Estate agency fends off hoaxer An Oldham-based residential and commercial estate agency has called in police to investigate a hoaxer who claimed the firm had gone into liquidation. Ryder & Dutton has a dozen offices across parts of Greater Manchester. A hoaxer carried out a threat to email hundreds of local businesses claiming a compulsory winding up petition against Ryder & Dutton had been advertised in the London Gazette. A spokesman said: "There is absolutely no truth whatsoever in the winding up allegations. It is purely a vindictive and totally unfounded attack on our good name, our staff and clients."
N Brown investors advised to oppose appointments The board of Manchester home shopping group N Brown faces opposition at tomorrow’s annual general meeting after PIRC, one of the UK’s largest shareholder advisory organisations, has advised shareholders to vote against the appointment of chairman Lord Alliance of Manchester, who owns a 31 per cent stake in N Brown, as he cannot be considered independent. As reported in the Telegraph today, PIRC also recommends opposing the appointment of non-executive director Nigel Alliance, Alliance’s brother and an 11.6 per cent stakeholder, and of senior independent director Ivan Fallon, because he has been on the board for over nine years. Meanwhile, the group is planning to launch its Simply Be catalogue in Germany in 2009.
Keep on trucking Preston's Leyland Trucks has scooped two awards at the Manufacturing Excellence awards. The company, based in Farington Moss, won the IMechE Award for Best Financial Management and the Warwick Manufacturing Group Award for Logistics and Resource Efficiency at the ceremony held at London's Dorchester Hotel. Managing director Jim Summer said the accolades were testament to the "commitment and professionalism" of its 1,400 employees. Leyland Trucks is owned by US-based PACCAR and manufactures 27,500 DAF trucks per year.
Pub closures set to accelerate A report published by PricewaterhouseCoopers has made gloomy reading for publicans, forecasting that around 6,000 UK pubs may close in the next five years if they do not take definite steps to address the impact of the smoking ban and squeeze on consumer spend. A total of 1,400 pubs closed in 2007, double the number of closures for the previous year. The report said that the credit crunch, coupled with the failure of any home nation to qualify for Euro 2008, could spell the end for up to 2,000 pubs in 2008.
The 532,000 sq ft Exchange Quay office complex in Salford Quays has secured three new lettings. Logistics company CH Robinson (UK) has relocated its regional office to a 2,030 sq ft suite, while industrial recruitment consultancy Arctic Personnel has taken a floor of Building 5 on a ten-year lease. Risk assessor Environmental Resources Management has doubled its space in committing to a new ten-year lease on 7,605 sq ft. DTZ and Canning O'Neill are joint agents on the scheme.
Empire builders Nelson-based Barnfield Construction has said it hopes to have its Empire Business Park in Burnley operational by late summer. The plans at the site include a gastro pub, 35,000 sq ft of office suites, which have been bought by investor Dylan Harvey, and 226,100 sq ft of industrial units across 22 acres either side of Liverpool Road. Development director Mark Taylforth said: "Hopefully, the park will provide jobs for local people and we are getting some good demand from businesses for the units."
Princess sold Dublin-based property group Harcourt Developments has bought Manchester's Princess on Portland hotel off a guide price of £8.5m. The Grade II-listed hotel, recently refurbished with a new business conferencing centre, dates back to 1870.
Data expansion US-owned Digital Realty Trust, which owns and manages corporate and internet gateway datacenters, has acquired Reynolds House Datacenter in Manchester to further its European portfolio of properties. The 38,600 sq ft facility was built in 2001 and is fully leased to three tenants on long-term bases. Digital Realty Trust owns 73 properties and is one of the largest providers of data centres in the world with 12.8 million sq ft of space under its ownership.
One of the most interesting business events this week is the latest in the Vital Topics lecture series at Manchester Business School on Wednesday evening - Mark Ferguson, co-founder and chief executive of Renovo, the UK’s largest biotech company, will tell the tale of the company, which was spun out of The University of Manchester. Vital Topics is partnered by Insider and sponsored by The Royal Bank of Scotland. And lunch time on the same day sees the Lowry Hotel play host to the regional head of the Barclays Trading Places awards, which recognise the achievements of people who have taken the plunge to change their lives by starting a business.
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