Bus maker Optare, which has bases in Leeds and Rotherham, has received an early-stage bid approach. The company, reacting to a 16 per cent jump in its share price, said talks may or may not lead to an offer being made and that a deal was not a certainty. In the six months to 30 June 2009, Optare grew turnover a massive 561 per cent to £52.1m, but losses for the period widened to £2.5m before exceptional costs.

Discount clothes retailer 2nd Thoughts has been placed into administration, causing 29 stores to close. The Leeds-based business, which trades as the Ellie Louise and Happit chain of ladies' value clothing stores in England and Scotland, appointed administrators Begbies Traynor earlier this week. The family business was set up as a stall on Seacroft market more than 30 years ago by Mick Broughton before being taken over by sons Gary and Kevin. The £14m turnover group had 82 stores nationwide, including 12 in Yorkshire, after acquiring Dunfermline-based fashion chain Happit in June 2008. In Yorkshire, the closure of the Pudsey and Shipley stores and redundancies at the Leeds head office account for 24 job losses in the region.

Landscaping products company Marshalls has recorded reduced revenue for 2009 and expects to announce underlying trading results in line with current market expectations. The company's revenue for the year ended 31 December 2009 was £312m, down from £378m in 2008; on a like-for-like basis, underlying daily sales revenue for the full year was down 16 per cent. The group said it continues to focus on driving sales in product areas where activity is more robust, reducing costs and improving efficiency while maintaining operational flexibility for the medium term. It agreed a temporary lay-off plan in August 2009, which it can implement if it needs to further reduce its cost base.

Gamestec, the gaming machine operator based in Horsforth, has secured a new contract with Center Parcs and renewed its deal with Cineworld. Under the agreement, Gamestec will supply machines to four Center Parcs sites for the next three years, while Cineworld has 77 sites throughout the UK. Gamestec is part of Danoptra Limited and provides operating services to 35,000 machines in the UK.

In his first blog of 2010, Yorkshire Business Insider Jim Pendrill chips away at the doom and gloom to take a look at Yorkshire companies on the global stage. "Here are two world-class Yorkshire companies that are positioning themselves perfectly for when the upturn really kicks in, not just in the UK but across the globe." For more from Jim, click here.

Digital companies and creative agencies from across Yorkshire are being encouraged to enter the 12th annual Big Chip Awards 2010, the biggest digital awards ceremony outside London. Insider is acting as media partner for the event alongside trade publication New Media Age. Although originally a North West institution, the event is now open to businesses from across the North of England. Awards on offer include the Game of the North Award and the Big Chip International Award for Innovation. There are also two new awards open to businesses in Yorkshire for the 2010 ceremony – the Little Chip Award for exceptional student achievement and the Big Green Chip Award. For further details – and to enter before the 1 March deadline – visit the Big Chip website.

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Barnsley College is applying for European funding to set up a centre of excellence for sustainable construction and renewable energy. The centre, proposed to be located at Honeywell House on Barnsley College's Honeywell campus, will provide two practical workshops and four multifunctional rooms that can be used for open days, seminars, advice and guidance or research rooms. It will provide a knowledge-transfer hub for businesses and entrepreneurs in this emerging sector and offer knowledge transfer on the forthcoming legislative requirements and associated technologies. It will also work with Business Link Yorkshire to support new businesses in this sector. The centre itself is expected to achieve a BREEAM excellent rating, and development is expected to take two years.

ISIS Waterside Regeneration has let four of six commercial units at Granary Wharf in Leeds following its £40m transformation. Ossett Brewery is the first new commercial letting at Granary Wharf, joining restaurant Wasabi Teppan-Yaki, which has been open for the last three years throughout building work and has now leased two adjoining units, totalling 3,275 sq ft at approximately £21 per sq ft for a 15-year lease. Ossett Brewery has teamed up with Mike Heaton, the drummer from Yorkshire indie band Embrace, who is a shareholder on the project to open pub The Hop in March 2010 after the successful launch of the Hop in Wakefield.

Weetwood Hall Hotel & Conference Centre in Leeds has opened a data-conferencing centre designed to facilitate meetings, training and other corporate functions. The centre features SMART technology, including interactive whiteboard and presentation creation and recording capabilities. Weetwood Hall general manager Peter Chubb said: “The conference and meetings market is forever changing, and we view this investment as an important part of our forward-thinking strategy.”

Sheffield International Venues (SIV) has won a contract to help develop a Lake District sports centre. SIV, through its subsidiary company SIV Enterprises Limited (SEL), will develop a masterplan for a newly proposed leisure hub in Troutbeck Bridge near Windermere. The leisure hub will include a 25m pool with a floating floor and spectator seating, indoor climbing and an 80-station fitness suite. As part of the year-long contract, SIV will also be assisting the Lakeland Initiative in Fitness, Excellence and Wellbeing (LIFE) with the management of the LIFE Swimming Pool and Leisure Centre.

Coutts & Co has appointed Ian Copley as senior private banker to the Leeds office. Copley, who has worked within the financial services sector for more than 20 years in advisory and management positions, will be focusing on entrepreneur and family business clients.