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Top story
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TIF update – live from Manchester Town Hall
The Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) today held its last meeting before the Transport Innovation Fund referendum in December. Council chief executive Sir Howard Bernstein, GMPTE chief executive David Leather and returning officer Sir Neil McIntosh this morning reported to the AGMA executive and the ballot paper was approved. Bernstein said: “All our work has been reviewed by the Department for Transport and the overall package continues to perform robustly against the tests. It is prudent, affordable and, subject to the executive’s comments, will form the basis of the public information programme.” Leather’s update sought to cover some perceived gaps, such as connectivity in the Stockport-Altrincham corridor and Metrolink’s proposed extension to the Trafford Centre and onwards to Peel’s Port Salford, a project that would need third-party funding.
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Today's news
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Small business help must reach the right people
Businesses and professionals in Manchester were this morning cautiously welcoming yesterday’s announcement by Chancellor Alistair Darling that funding of up to £4bn from the European Investment Bank (EIB) will be made available to small and medium-sized firms through high street banks. Kirsty Shenton, a manager in the entrepreneurial advisory team at Grant Thornton in Manchester, said: “It is essential that banks start lending again, particularly to entrepreneurial businesses. The feedback we are getting from clients is that borrowing money from the banks is still very expensive and lending rates are not being reduced in line with the recent reduction in interest rates. However, we need to be assured this money will actually become available at an affordable price to businesses.”
Don’t cut marketing, says hotel veteran
Speaking at the Halliwells Hotels Conference held at the Lowry Hotel yesterday, Sir David Michels, a leisure industry veteran and former group chief executive ot Hilton International, said hotels must not cut back on marketing and sales, but increase them. “I’ve lived and prospered through five recessions. This could be longer and tougher, but the same rules apply – the companies that expand sales and marketing and run it through all areas of the business are the ones that emerge in better shape," he said.
LSB must sell
London Scottish Bank LSB), the beleaguered Manchester-based specialist provider of financial services, has been unable to raise new regulatory capital as required by the medium-term revolving credit facility entered into by the company’s debt purchase and debt collection subsidiary, Robinson Way & Company. The term of that facility has now been reduced by one year to May 2010 and LSB is obliged to sell either the whole group or Robinson Way by 30 June 2009. Sale talks are ongoing.
Customer dispute nears resolution
Landround, the Chester-based reward programmes and promotions group, released interim results this morning that showed revenues for the six months to the end of July were down to £2.4m from £3.2m for the same period last year. Earlier this month, the company said it was considering selling off “some or all” of its businesses as it expects revenues and results for the second half of the year to be “significantly affected” by an ongoing dispute with one of its Buy & Fly customers. Landround said today that it is now nearer to a resolution with this customer and that some income will accrue to the group from a settlement of this dispute. But losses are still expected in the second half.
TEG moves to Buckshaw
The TEG Group, which makes composting equipment, is to move to the Buckshaw Office Park development at Buckshaw Village, Chorley. Due to expansion, the company is relocating from its existing building at Sceptre Point, Bamber Bridge, and has agreed a ten-year lease on 4,531 sq ft of office space with landlord Westmarch Investments.
Store opening for Styles & Wood
Altrincham-headquartered Styles & Wood, the retail store development company, has completed the Habitat store at the Westfield development White City in London. The store, which is about 18,300 sq ft and incorporates a specifically designed central staircase, opens with the rest of White City today. Last week Styles & Wood issued a trading statement to the stock exchange that stated revenue for 2008 would be in line with expectations.
Didsbury Towers above
WHR Property Consultants has secured a new tenant at Towers Business Park in Didsbury. IT business Calyx UK has agreed a ten-year lease for 7,700 sq ft in The Pavilion building at £16.50 per sq ft. GVA Grimley is the joint letting agent. Will Lewis of WHR Property Consultants said: “Towers Business Park has been the most successful business park in South Manchester during 2008 – it has an excellent location, parkland environment and unrivalled amenities on its doorstep.”
Statistics confirm failure fears
Business failures in the North West increased by 33.7 per cent in the first nine months of the year with a total of 2,270 failures, according to the latest figures from information services company Experian. There were 800 failures recorded in the region in the third quarter, the highest number of insolvencies recorded outside London and the South East. All 14 regions monitored by Experian saw an increase in insolvencies in the first nine months of 2008 compared with 2007.
Figures up at AstraZeneca
Drugs giant AstraZeneca, whose UK headquarters is in Cheshire, has reported third-quarter sales up by 3 per cent in constant exchange rate terms – or 9 per cent in real terms - as it beat expectations to record a pre-tax profit that rose 22 per cent to $2.4bn. David Brennan, chief executive, said: “AstraZeneca has delivered a robust set of results that deliver on our performance commitments despite a challenging environment. We continue to make good progress on reshaping our cost base.”
Celebrities open new Blackburn business centre
A new business centre has been opened at Ewood Park, home of Blackburn Rovers Football Club. Cutting the ribbon on the “enterprise centre” were fashion designer Wayne Hemingway and injured footballer David Dunn, who we were enlightened to hear is “a player with his own business portfolio”. Hemingway said: “The centre is a wonderful facility – somewhere for local entrepreneurs to make a positive start on their various ventures. Town and city retail centres are often owned by pension funds and the rates can prove prohibitive to start-ups and young businesses.”
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Something for the weekend
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Deal of the week
In this kind of climate it’s important to reward bravery and you won’t get much braver than the buyout of an engineering business. Aircraft parts maker Norcot Engineering this week underwent a secondary buyout backed by Wilmslow-based Acorn Capital Partners. The Ashton-under-Lyne business was formed in 2004 when Richmond Metal Finishing, a subsidiary of Advanced Manufacturing Solutions, was bought out of administration by Tim Harrison and Malcolm Mitson in a deal backed by asset-based lender Enterprise Finance Europe.
Something for the weekend, sir?
There are plenty of screenings of the new James Bond flick, The Quantum of Solace, this weekend. Begbies Traynor and Baker Tilly are both hosting events. Insider was lucky enough to be among the “galaxy of stars” at the North West premier in Chester last night. Footballers and soap stars were present (obviously), but we only spotted Chester businessman Tim Craig (what was he doing there?), Damian Waters from the CBI and that Scouse comedian who used to be Ron Dixon in Brookside.
Fight for your right to party
The battle for hearts and minds over TIF goes on, but has the Yes campaign secured for itself the role of the funkier choices? Next Tuesday night the campaign in hosting a US election night party, with tunes somewhat inevitably provided by Dave Haslam. Presumably the Yes camp is anticipating a victory for the progressive Barack Obama, rather than the status quo as represented by John McCain. Could get lively if the anti-TIF shark turns up demanding entry.
Bad news all the way
Contrary to popular belief, we don’t actually enjoy all the doom and gloom – ringing companies you know are going bust isn’t pleasant. In a bid to find some cheer, we thought we’d stumbled on a feel-good Hallowe’en story entitled “The Fate of Fatal Friday Phenomenon”. It turned out to be about the number of people killed on the roads at peak times on Fridays. Still, the numbers are falling, so that’s something.
Cheery intro of the week
Opening the Halliwells hotel conference was Chris Eddlestone, the firm's head of leisure, a description of the legal work he does, not the amount of golf he plays or lunch he eats. He asked all delegates to smile and said his hosting of the day would be in stark contrast to “Robert de-Preston from the BBC and his horrible red line that always points downwards.”
Time to cut the icing off the cake?
Be honest – if you’re making cutbacks, what’s likely to have a red pen run through it – that’s right, the corporate social responsibility budget. To persuade you not to do that, Business in the Community has done a survey claiming that FTSE companies that actively managed and measured corporate responsibility issues outperformed the FTSE 350 on total shareholder return by between 3.3 per cent and 7.7 per cent throughout the period 2002 to 2007.
Register for Insider's Green Crunch breakfast
While the threat of recession offers some businesses an excuse to let green policies and plans slip, adopting better environmental practices can often make a major difference to your bottom line. Insider is organising a breakfast event on sustainability and the recession on 28 November at 7.30am, at The Ramada Jarvis Piccadilly. An expert panel will discuss their experiences of environmental policy and the impact this can have on saving the planet and saving money: Chris Shearlock, environmental manager at The Co-operative Group; Tony Dean, regional director at The Environment Agency; and David Hall, senior sector development manager for energy (North West) at Envirolink. Places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. For further information on the event, please contact our events team on 0161 907 9707 or email helen.rangeley@newsco.com.
On the trail
Preston keeps on trying. The plans to tart up Winckley Square may have got a kicking, but could anyone really argue with an “outdoor museum” – a sort of heritage trail dreamed up by “design experts” at the University of Central Lancashire. Ideas under consideration include a Wallace and Gromit bench, a statue of pint-sized Star Wars actor Kenny Baker and an artwork dedicated to Butch Cassidy, who had Preston roots. If that won’t make Preston a “visitor destination” we don’t know what will.
Canapé won’t pay
Insider Daily’s hungry reporter hot footed it to the Lowry Hotel at 1pm yesterday in time to register for Halliwells’ Hotels conference, eagerly expecting the customary tasty treats to show off to a room full of hoteliers and hospitality professionals. But what fresh lunacy is this? Just coffee and biscuits. By the time of the panel discussion at 4pm the rumbling of stomachs was so great the speakers could barely be heard. We’re hoping for better at the Dewi Morris Curry Club at Shimla Pinks today.
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