|
-
|
|
Top story
|
Cities hopeful on local transport power
Manchester and Liverpool are hopeful that the amendment to the Local Transport Bill, currently in Parliament, will allow them to win more control over their bus networks after transport minister Geoff Hoon agreed to more localised control. The amendment, long championed by Merseytravel chief executive Neil Scales in his capacity as chairman of passenger transport executives, means that local bodies rather than a central government quango will be responsible for selecting operators. Operators will work along the lines of Transport for London’s exclusive quality contracts. Richard Critchley, transport policy manager at Greater Manchester Chamber, said: “The Bill strikes the right balance. It allows each city region to determine how best its strategies can be achieved. The current lack of integration is holding back the development of the city region.”
|
|
|
Deals
|
Four Seasons secures breathing space
Wilmslow-based healthcare provider Four Seasons has entered a standstill agreement with its senior lenders until 22 January 2009 to allow negotiations to continue as the group attempts to find a satisfactory way to restructure its debt. “These talks are constructive and our lenders are supportive in trying to reach a robust capital structure solution for the group,” said a statement. “The group is generating significant operating profits and it is in everyone’s interests, and particularly the lenders’, to preserve the underlying value of the business. We remain confident that there will be a consensual restructuring of the group’s debt.”
VC fixer joins fund manager
Veteran venture capital fixer Vivienne Upcott-Gill has left the Northwest Regional Development Agency and is working for regional private equity group YFM. The team, led in Manchester by Doug Stellman, manages a number of public-backed venture capital funds as well as VCTs and institutionally backed funds. YFM was taken over in April 2008 by GLE Group, taking the funds under management by the group to more than £330m. David Hall, managing director of YFM, said: “Our investment strategy has been not to take on too much debt. A feature of the smaller private equity investments is that return is driven more from underlying profit growth and building businesses with a competitive advantage in their market sector than through leverage and financial engineering.”
Management buys Kaupthing arm
Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander, the UK capital markets arm of collapsed Icelandic bank Kaupthing, has been saved in a management buyout, revealing the team's confidence in the underlying business. The renamed Singer Capital Markets, a wholly employee-owned business, will be a full-service independent stockbroking business led by chief executive Tim Cockroft.
|
|
Business
|
Byotrol leads war on bugs
Busy times for Byotrol, the Manchester-based anti-microbial technology company quoted in AIM. Yesterday the company announced that it is planning to raise £4m through the placing of new shares, a tough call in economically troubled times. The capital injection will allow Byotrol to equip a new technical centre for research, finance training and recruitment, and develop its global brand through sales and marketing. And this morning its technology has officially been made available to UK hospitals and NHS organisations through the NHS Supply Chain. Stephen Falder, deputy chairman of Byotrol, said: “The news comes on the back of a five-year programme to drive adoption of our technology into the NHS. This latest development follows a recent announcement that the NHS's Innovation Hub in the North West, TrusTECH, is experiencing encouraging results in a major trial that is evaluating our technology against chlorine-based cleaners.”
NWDA backs rural development schemes
The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) has spoken out in support of Defra following suggestions that the government needs to rethink its approach to developing rural economies. The environment, food and rural affairs select committee claimed this week that too many levels of government are slowing progress and called on Defra to clarify issues with a delivery plan. NWDA head of rural affairs David Hunter told Insider the agency is happy with progress: “We have welcomed the opportunity to engage more directly with Defra. It has given us a strong lead on a wide range of issues and we hope that the strong working relationship on, for example, the Rural Development Programme for England, the Sustainable Farming and Food Agenda and the work of the Regional Rural Affairs Forums continues.”
Leyland cuts jobs as truck orders slow
Lancashire manufacturer Leyland Trucks is to cut 100 jobs. PACCAR, the US truck group that bought Leyland in 1998, lowered its forecasts and confirmed that its quarterly earnings have fallen as the slowdown in orders spread throughout its key markets of Europe, Mexico and Australia. It said European sales for 2009 could fall as much as 24 per cent.
Lookers pins hopes on after-sales business
Manchester-based car dealer Lookers has released an interim management statement for the period from 1 July to 29 October. It said that figures mirror the 21 per cent downturn in the new car market reported by the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders, but that it will focus on opportunities in the “more stable” after-sales business streams, which include parts distribution and service and have continued to trade strongly throughout the third quarter.
Lancaster teams students with business
Lancaster University’s InfoLab21 is launching an online jobshop to help ICT students and employers find each other for part-time work, project work, vacation work and graduate positions. InfoLab21’s Knowledge Business Centre has contacts with hundreds of ICT companies across the North West. By using the ICT JobShop, employers get access to computing and communication systems students from InfoLab21, one of the largest ICT research centres in Europe.
How green is your product?
From today businesses can assess the carbon footprint of their goods and services thanks to a new standard launched by BSI British Standards, the Carbon Trust and Defra. The standard – called PAS 2050 – is a consistent way of counting the greenhouse gas emissions embedded in goods and services throughout their lifecycle, from sourcing raw materials, through to manufacture, distribution, use and disposal. The Carbon Trust has already piloted the standard with 75 product ranges for companies including The Co-operative Group, PepsiCo and Boots.
E.ON rounds up business troops
Power and gas company E.ON has today launched a campaign to recruit 10,000 Energy Marshals from Britain’s business community in a bid to slash energy bills by £2.5bn. Business leaders are being urged to create the role of Energy Marshal to champion energy efficiency and encourage employees to change their behaviour. In the North West businesses are losing more than £250m a year in wasted energy, emitting more than 2.2 million tonnes of wasted carbon.
Cheshire enterprise awards launch
Nominations are now open for Cheshire’s High Sheriff’s Award for Enterprise. The winner and two runners-up will be announced at a ceremony in March 2009 at the University of Chester’s Chester campus. Now in its third year, the awards have attracted support from sponsors including Barclays Bank, the Northwest Regional Development Agency and the Cheshire and Warrington Economic Alliance. The winning company will receive a free place for one of its managers on the MBA programme at the University of Chester.
Business investment down, says survey
A survey by Siemens Financial Services indicates that the UK economy’s stagnation is seriously hindering businesses’ ability to invest in equipment and technology. Siemens predicts that business investment in the second half of 2008 will be down 2 per cent on 2007, with the North West’s predicted fall of 3.8 per cent being the UK’s biggest. Siemens’ Derek Ryan said: “North West firms are delaying important investment decisions. It’s a classic short-term reaction to very real financial pressure, but one with a detrimental impact on long-term performance.”
Prize for lean manufacturing
The Manufacturing Institute has launched the UK version of the Shingo Prize, awarded to businesses to recognise operational excellence in using lean manufacturing processes. First established in North America, for 20 years the prize has provided an engine of growth for organisations and individuals. TMI expects the prize to have a dramatic impact on national productivity, GVA and business motivation.
Social Entrepreneur Awards launched
Bank of Scotland Corporate has launched its £6m Social Entrepreneur Awards, designed to encourage and nurture the organisations that “put welfare before wealth and reward those that put the greater good ahead of personal profits”. Two awards are on offer. The first comprises up to £5m free of interest and fees for three years, or a one-off cash donation of up to £500,000, the second £1m interest and fee-free for three years or a lump sum of £100,000. Each winner will receive three days mentoring from a leading social entrepreneur.
|
|
Property
|
Optare to move to Walker Park
Beva Investments has let the majority of its Walker Park development in Blackburn on a 20-year lease to bus manufacturer Optare. The group, created by a reverse takeover by the Darwen Group of Yorkshire group Optare earlier in 2008, will make Walker Park its headquarters and use it to establish the manufacture of hybrid buses. The 278,000 sq ft facility, formerly occupied by Corus, includes 32,000 sq ft of offices. The move could create up to 400 jobs, almost doubling the workforce. Beva will start a £2m construction and refurbishment programme, to be completed early in 2009.
Values down 7.2 per cent, says Cushmans
Capital values in commercial property have fallen by 7.2 per cent in the past eight weeks, according to research by consultancy Cushman & Wakefield. Trading activity in the third quarter fell 22 per cent, meaning the market has “all but frozen”. But the firm noted that the banking rescue could lead to higher deal volume as early as the first quarter of 2009. Tony Bray, partner in the Manchester office, said: “While clearly detrimentally impacting on the majority of the market, these economic conditions provide excellent opportunities for cash-rich investors to take advantage of discounted stock.”
Ilford in at Midpoint
Pochin Developments has secured a letting to Swiss-owned Ilford Imaging at Verity Court, part of Midpoint 18 Business Park. Ilford has taken a three-year lease of the first floor of Unit 1, measuring 1,500 sq ft. The business, originally based in Mobberley, will relocate its UK marketing team to Middlewich at the start of December.
Braemar looks to students
Hale-based property investor Braemar is to focus on one of the few areas of property showing positive returns by launching a fund investing in student accommodation. The fund will launch with an initial £8.1m investment in Manchester property with a further £50m of expected investment through 2009.
|
|
|
Contact Us
Insider
8th Floor, Boulton House
17-21 Chorlton Street
Manchester
M1 3HY
Telephone: +44 (0)161 907 9711
Email: nw@insiderdaily.co.uk |
 |
Subscribe
To subscribe to the eBulletin,
click here.
|
|
- |
