|
 |
|
Top story
|
Leekes looks for new shops as profits leap
JH Leeke & Sons, the retail and leisure group, is looking for acquisitions after racking up a 150 per cent rise in profits. The South Wales company, which owns Leekes household goods stores and the Vale Resort complex, made a pre-tax profit of £3.5m, up from £1.4m, in the year to March. Turnover grew to £63.8m from £62.2m the year before. Finance director Mike Fowler told Insider the firm was actively seeking new stores. He said: "We are keen to expand, and there are good opportunities in this market if you are brave enough.”
|
|
Deals
|
PHS catches fire firm
PHS, the workplace services group based in Caerphilly, has bought Fyr Fyter, a fire safety company in Durham.
|
Cable part maker raises expansion funds
Marco Cable Management, an Anglesey company which makes parts for large buildings, has raised £243,000 of asset finance from HSBC. Marco expects the cash, along with support from the Welsh Assembly Government, to help boost its turnover by 30 per cent this year.
|
Antur buys DW Burrows
Antur Insurance has acquired DW Burrows, a Barry-based broker, in a bid to strengthen its presence in South East Wales. DW Burrows has been trading in Barry for more than 30 years.
|
|
Companies
|
Morgan hits out at mortgage rule change
Steve Morgan, the chairman of house builder Redrow, will say today that the UK financial watchdog’s planned new mortgage rules risk choking off demand for housing. He is expected to launch an attack on the FSA’s mortgage market review changes when he addresses Flintshire-based Redrow’s annual general meeting.
|
Admiral sales jump 50 per cent
Admiral Group, the insurer, enjoyed a 50 per cent jump in quarterly turnover as its premiums and customer numbers rose. The Cardiff-based group made sales of £446m in the three months to September, up by half on the same period a year earlier.
|
Rural TV firm assets bought from administration
The physical assets of Cwmbran-based broadcaster Horse & Country TV have been bought out of administration by HCTV Limited, a newly formed subsidiary of Hemisphere Capital. The sale was for £100,000 cash which was paid on completion. The administrator said this was the highest offer received by a considerable margin.
|
West Coast reaches Poland
West Coast Energy, the Flintshire-based wind farm developer, has opened a subsidiary in Poland to cash in on growing demand there for renewable power. Its move came after the European Commission brought out tough new guidelines on wind farms.
|
Do you need help sourcing new clients?
Insider’s Wales Top 300 Companies 2010 database is our accurate and comprehensive business marketing list. Special offer until 24 December.
|
|
Government and politics
|
Merthyr and Llanelli get regen cash
The Welsh Assembly Government is to back £40m worth of regeneration work in Merthyr Tydfil and Llanelli. It will provide £21.7m towards a £26.7m scheme in Merthyr Tydfil town centre and the Taff Bargoed Valley. And it will chip in £7.5m for a £13.5m plan to regenerate central Llanelli.
|
|
People
|
Burchell leaves Rachel's for ice cream maker
Loseley, the ice cream group based in Cwmbran, has recruited Rachel’s Dairy chief Neil Burchell to be its managing director. Burchell, who has run Rachel’s for eight years, will join a company with brands including Thayers, Granelli’s of Cheshire and Yorkshire Dales Old Fashioned.
|
|
|
|
Advice
|
Ask The Expert: Resource efficiencies
Tim Lineham, programme manager at Envirowise Wales, offers Welsh businesses his advise on how important resource efficiencies could be to their enterprise.
|
|
|
