Horbury Group, the construction company based in Rotherham, has acquired East Midlands-based Tubular Scaffolding Services for an undisclosed sum. Tubular, which employs more than 40 people and has turnover in excess of £1.5m, will become Horbury’s 11th subsidiary. The deal increases Horbury’s offering across the construction sector adding to its joinery, ceilings, dry lining and health and safety training businesses and Trevor Wragg, Horbury managing director, said: "Our continual diversification into new markets means we can reach a broader client base, enabling us to provide a full range of services to the construction industry." For Insider comment, click here.

Ark Alliance, the York-based veterinary practice trading as Battle Flatts Veterinary Clinic and Applegarth Veterinary Surgery has been acquired by Norfolk veterinary services company CVS (UK) for an undisclosed sum. Battle Flatts is a four-site small animal and equine practice in York and becomes the latest addition to CVS’s expanding portfolio. For Insider comment, click here.

Rensburg Sheppards, the Leeds investment management business, has posted solid results ahead of Investec’s expected £412m acquisition. Pre-tax profits hit £27m for the year to 31 March 2010, down slightly from £30.2m. The funds under its management achieved an organic growth of 4.9 per cent in the period, up from 1.9 per cent. Rensburg also confirmed that Investec’s offer for the business outlined in March has been accepted and recommended to shareholders, with a vote due on 1 June 2010. Meanwhile Investec announced it has issued a prospectus for the expected admission of 37,881,353 new shares to the Stock Exchange.

New business secretary Vince Cable has given the strongest hint yet that “popular” regional development agencies (RDAs) in the North and Midlands could survive the public sector cuts due to be announced on Monday. The news follows the coalition government’s 30-page manifesto for the next five years that includes replacing RDAs with a new system of local enterprise partnerships. Speaking yesterday at a meeting attended by Insider, he said: “There are areas like the North West, Yorkshire and West Midlands, where there are real serious structural problems and there seems to be a broad agreement with local businesses that the RDAs are doing a good job.” However, he added that they would be reformed, with their powers likely to be shifted to a pure economic development focus. RDAs in the South and East of England will face budget cuts.

Fleet management company Zenith Provecta has launched a new fleet funding initiative in association with Santander Corporate Banking. Under the agreement, the Leeds-based Zenith will manage the fleets of Santander’s corporate customers, with funding provided by the banking giant. Mike Oxby, director of asset finance at Santander Corporate Banking, said: “The fleet market is currently undergoing significant upheaval due to some of the larger leasing companies rationalising their operations and capital-constraint issues for smaller independent companies; and therefore I believe the timing of our new dual-branded proposition could not be better.”

Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance has revealed that it is to carry on offering small and medium-sized businesses in Yorkshire access to finance from the Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) after the scheme was extended until 31 March 2011 by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills. Under the EFG initiative Lloyds TSB can offer eligible clients, with turnover between £250,000 and £25m, access to loans of between £10,000 and £1m. The extension will enable an additional £500m of lending.

Yorkshire Business Insider editor Jim Pendrill last night attended Insider’s 42 under 42 Awards, where Yorkshire business community’s up-and-coming stars were celebrated. In his weekly blog, Jim comments on the topic dominating last night’s conversation – was it coalition pronouncements, public sector cuts? No, it was the continued growth and success of business that topped the agenda and Jim was struck by the confidence and swagger of the region’s young entrepreneurs as they looked to the future. To read Jim’s blog, click here.

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Well Met Conferencing at Leeds Metropolitan University has generated almost £1m worth of interest after displaying its facilities at this month’s Academic Venue Show at the Emirates Stadium in London. Well Met, whose portfolio includes the Rose Bowl, Carnegie Village, the Old School Board and Gandhi Hall, has recently hosted conferences for the NHS, Yorkshire Forward and the Institute of Directors.

Yorkshire South Tourism has been recognised as Sheffield International Venues’ (SIV) Business Partner of the Year at SIV’s annual conference and award ceremony. The two organisations have worked on several projects in recent years raising the profile of South Yorkshire as a leading business tourism destination and SIV’s venues. SIV also announced sales in excess of £25m for the year at the ceremony.

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Ashton Morton Slack (AMS), the Sheffield law firm, has welcomed the suspension of Home Information Packs (HIPS) by the coalition government. Introduced in 2007, HIPS obliged sellers to pay for and provide conveyancing information when putting properties on the market. The packs were criticised by many in the property industry for deterring potential sellers. AMS partner Steve Williams said: “This is excellent news for the housing market as it brings speculative sellers back into the frame.”

Northern Recruitment Group (NRG) has appointed Greg Phillips as business manager at its York office. Therese Liddle, NRG’s managing director, said Phillips’ appointment was intended to spearhead the recruitment company’s expansion across Yorkshire. NRG is headquartered in Newcastle and provides recruitment services to both the public and private sectors.

Marketing agency outside the box (OTB) has appointed Kate Needham as business development director. Needham joins Leeds-based OTB with previous experience working at Nestles Rowntree and R & R. OTB managing director Mark Davies said: “Strategic planning is a major strand of our client service so we need to ensure we are constantly offering outstanding solutions. We worked closely with Kate as a client, so we’re delighted to have her at the helm of the strategy to support our clients and growing our business”