Week Ending: Stanley for Co-op; Keeping porn local; The story of Bod

THE Co-operative Group’s quest for a new chief executive, prompted by Euan Sutherland’s hissey fit, is of course ongoing.

Perhaps head hunters – undoubtedly being paid a fortune by the beleaguered mutual – should look in the local market. Someone with knowledge of the movement and of course experience of a turnaround situation would be ideal.

Step forward Paul Stanley, the plain-speaking insolvency practitioner from Stockport, who is currently a partner at Begbies Traynor in Manchester.

He told Week Ending: “I’d have a crack at it – it’s a northern institution that has lost its way. It is not ungovernable and needs to get back to basics.

“I wouldn’t cost £6m quid either, ” he added, in a swipe at Euan Sutherland’s package, the leaking of which to the media prompted him to throw his toys out if the pram so dramatically.

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WEEK Ending was fascinated to learn that one of the contenders to run local TV across the North West is facing censure in its native Canada for not making enough local pornography.

Toronto-based Channel Zero runs mainstream stations but also has three adult channels – AOV Movie Channel, AOV XXX Action Clips and AOV Maleflixxx. The Canadian broadcasting regulator requires that broadcasters air a minimum proportion of Canadian content, and this rule extends to pornography.

The company has been told at least 35% of the content on the channels must be Canadian, and it also breached the rules by not providing subtitling on 90% of its programmes. It will defend its output at a hearing on April 28.

In 2012 Channel Zero was battling it out for the local TV licences in Manchester, Liverpool and Preston and five other locations. It failed to pick up one licence, which would have left it with more time to source local, ahem, talent for its adult channels in Canada.

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HE may be one of the bright young things of corporate finance, and in the running to be named North West  Rainmaker of the year for his role in the successful float of retailer AO, but Bod Buckby is frequently mis-named.
 
This very publication has been guilty – once re-christening the Rothschild’s man as ‘Bob’, due to a presumption that Bod wasn’t right.
 
He told Week Ending: “I get it all the time, Bob, Brad, so I don’t really mind.”
 
His full name is Thomas Boddington Buckby, but he has been called Bod since he was born.
 
Is he a descendent of the famous Manchester brewing dynasty? I ask. ‘No, my dad was a fan of the beer,’ he answers simply. Good to see he’s not bitter.

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