Business Desk North West Headlines

Bethell responded to downturn with job cuts

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 13:26:25 +0000

CONSTRUCTION and engineering group Bethell was forced to make redundancies last year following a "significant deterioration" in trading conditions.According to newly-filed accounts the number of emplo...

Slump knocks sales at Wain Homes

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 12:43:26 +0000

WARRINGTON housebuilder Wain Group Holdings posted a loss last year after the slump in the housing market wiped 26% off revenues.The company, which is controlled by Bill Ainscough who also owns Langtr...

Preston borrows more from Hemmings

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:45:57 +0000

PRESTON North End has extended its loan from Guild Ventures, a shareholder of the club owned by Lancashire tycoon Trevor Hemmings.The latest extension is worth £450,000, taking the total borrowed from...

Antler deal near to finishing line

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 10:44:06 +0000

THE much-delayed sale of North West luggage-brand Antler is moving into the final stages with the Birmingham office of LDC in pole position.Ironically the sale of the £40m turnover Bury-based business...

Manchester’s Acresfield sold for £18.8m

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 10:01:34 +0000

THE Acresfield in St Ann’s Square, Manchester, has been sold for £18.83m.Pension fund Aberdeen Property Investors has sold the 51,685 sq ft building to Schroders, which was acting on behalf of S...

Decision on Ampera next year says Vauxhall chief

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 08:13:35 +0000

GENERAL Motors Europe chief executive Nick Reilly says the company\'s Ellesmere Port plant is \"very much a contender\" to be chosen to build the new electric car Ampera.Speaking at the Cheshire facto...

Forth Ports agrees to meet Peel consortium

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 08:41:50 +0000

FORTH Ports has agreed to meet the Northstream consortium - which includes Peel Holdings - after knocking back two previous takeover offers.In its full year figures, published today, the Edinburgh-bas...

Dylan Harvey Group losses widen to £9.3m

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:05:54 +0000

DYLAN Harvey Group, whose subsidiary residential company went into administration last August owing more than 200 creditors £6.5m, has seen its annual loss run into millions of pounds.Latest accounts ...

Ultimate picks up luggage brand

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 08:05:04 +0000

ULTIMATE Products has added a further £10m to its turnover after picking-up a long-standing luggage business.Oldham-based Ultimate Products, which sources and designs homewares, electrical goods and ...

Daresbury start-up gets £18k grant

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 08:32:42 +0000

DARESBURY start-up Qualoria has been awarded a £18,878 ‘proof of market’ grant by the Northwest Regional Development Agency.Based at Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus, Qualoria speci...

Bridging Finance helps ROCC snap up a bargain

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:08:30 +0000

LOAN company Bridging Finance has provided ROCC Construction with the funds to acquire a £1.1m residential development at half price.The Manchester-based firm provided short-term funding to enable ROC...

Stobart gets Southend approval

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:14:57 +0000

LOGISTICS group Stobart has been granted permission to push ahead with a runway extension at its airport in Southend, Essex.The move, which was expected, means the airport will be ready to take passen...

Parkwood sees opportunity in spending cuts

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 08:24:29 +0000

PRESTON-based Parkwood Holdings, which manages golf courses and swimming pools, believes Government spending cuts could lead to more business.It recorded a sharp increase in sales in its core business...

Readers’ poll: Deficit should be tackled immediately

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:38:55 +0000

THE next government should initiate plans to tackle the public sector deficit immediately after the general election, according to TheBusinessDesk readers.The majority of respondents to our latest sur...

Cooke leaves Hill Dickinson for new venture

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:23:07 +0000

LAW firm Hill Dickinson has announced the departure of corporate partner Darryl Cooke from its Manchester office.The firm said in a statement that Mr Cooke had decided to leave the firm to pursue a &l...

Manchester Central to get sky park

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:33:22 +0000

DRAMATIC plans for the rear of Manchester Central, formerly G-Mex, have been revealed that will include a new tram interchange, three glass towers and a new public park in the sky.There will also be a...

Cuts could open the door to fraud, says PwC

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:13:46 +0000

BACK office cuts will leave businesses and public sector bodies more exposed to fraud as the region moves out of recession, according to accountant PricewaterhouseCoopers. PwC has identified what it d...

Hotels and bar chiefs on awards shortlist

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:58:07 +0000

A HOST of Manchester\'s hotels, bars and employees have made it through to the final of the Northern Hospitality Awards 2010.In total, nine establishments and individuals from Manchester have been sho...

IS Pharma makes £1.4m on product sale

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 08:04:28 +0000

NORTH West pharmaceuticals group IS Pharma has sold two of its products for a combined £1.4m.The company said the sale of Volplex and Isoplex, both mature plasma substitute products, is in line with i...

200 jobs on the line at oven bottom muffin specialist

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:43:15 +0000

SOME 200 jobs are under threat at an Ashton-under-Lyne baker that claims to be the biggest oven bottom muffin supplier in the country.David Whitehouse and Phil Duffy, partners at the Manchester accoun...

Logged in with . . . Chris Bellamy

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 07:35:30 +0000

Logged in with ... Chris BellamyOrganisation: FirstFound, the search engine consultancy Job title: Founder Employees: 98Career highlights: It has to be reach...

D&S Engineering Facilities bought in £11.6m deal

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 08:20:03 +0000

LANCASHIRE-based D&S Engineering Facilities has been sold to building services group T Clarke for £11.6m.London-based T Clarke, which is stock market listed, has paid an initial cash consideration of ...

Zeus Group to split

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:26:13 +0000

THE Zeus Group, the Manchester-based financial group, is to split after founders Richard Hughes and Ian Currie have opted to go their separate ways after 20 years in business together.It is understood...

Latitude creditors lose £10m after £1m pre-pack

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:55:36 +0000

THE directors of Latitude Group paid just over £1m for the online marketing company in a pre-pack deal that saw creditors lose more than £10m, TheBusinessDesk can reveal.The Warrington-based business ...

Chemicals firm faces £8m fine for bribing officials

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 08:25:00 +0000

A CHESHIRE chemicals manufacturer is facing a £8.3m fine after bribing government officials in Indonesia to prolong the use of harmful lead-based fuel.Innospec Ltd, which makes fuel additives at its f...

NCC in £3m swoop for Meridian

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 08:34:34 +0000

IT security business NCC Group has bought Warrington-based card services and compliance business Meridian for £3m.Meridian, which employs 13 staff, specialises card services auditing and assurance. It...

MoJ suspends Cartel Client Review

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:05:04 +0000

MANCHESTER-based Cartel Client Review has today had its licence suspended by the Ministry of Justice, preventing from carry out its claims management services.The MoJ confirmed earlier this month that...

Consort abandons AMS takeover talks

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 08:36:26 +0000

QUOTED medical device business Consort Medical has walked away from a planned takeover of Advanced Medical Solutions (AMS), the Cheshire woundcare specialist.AMS has already rejected two approaches fr...

Travelodge gets green light for waterfront hotel

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:08:10 +0000

COUNCILLORS in Liverpool have approved a planning application for a 10-storey Travelodge hotel on the city\'s waterfront.The hotel chain intends to build a 141-bedroom hotel with retail and office spa...

Channel M to broadcast last live show

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 08:37:05 +0000

GREATER Manchester\'s TV station Channel M will broadcast its last-ever news show tonight after owners Guardian Media Group failed to find a buyer for the loss-making business.Staff numbers will be cu...

MIPIM: St Peter’s Partnership aims to lure investers

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:42:52 +0000

ARGENT’S joint chief executive David Partridge announced the launch of the St Peter’s Partnership at the Manchester stand at MIPIM yesterday. The Partnership will work strategically to att...

Brabners advises on Threesixty deal

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 09:58:34 +0000

THE Liverpool office of North West law firm Brabners Chaffe Street advised on the sale of Cheshire-based support services group Threesixty to Standard Life.Standard Life took a control of the Cheadle ...

MIPIM Blog: Why our major cities have joined the MIPIM party

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 07:58:23 +0000

ENGLAND\'S big cities have been involved in a battle royale at MIPIM this week, slugging it out for recognition at the international property conference.David Parkin, our man in MIPIM, gives his take ...

Sharewatch: Cropper donates to charity

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:34:13 +0000

THE chairman of North West paper manufacturer James Cropper has donated shares worth £20,000 to a foundation that helps Cumbrian charities.James Cropper gifted 15,000 shares to the Cumbria Community F...

Appointments: Hidden Creative grows; Kirwans appoints head of new department; and more...

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:25:13 +0000

DESIGN agency Hidden Creative has joined forces with highly experienced technical consultant Matt Trubow as part of its ongoing expansion.The Manchester-based company has begun working with Mr Trubow ...

ReThink buys London firm

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:53:12 +0000

MANCHESTER recruitment specialist the ReThink Group has bought a London consultancy.In a statement to shareholders AIM-listed ReThink said it had acquired the issued share capital of TrusTtech Ltd, a ...

Manchester advisers work on BTC merger

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:25:42 +0000

BRANDED clothing distributor BTC Activewear has merged with its largest European competitor.Shareholders of BTC Activewear, which has an office in Blackburn, were advised by Andrew Page of Manchester-...

Matrix secures £10m investment from LDC

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:37:14 +0000

PRIVATE equity group LDC has invested £10m in a Manchester firm that helps businesses make their properties more energy efficient.LDC has taken a minority stake in Droylsden-based Matrix and additiona...

Historic year sees Co-op deliver record profits

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:13:56 +0000

TWO milestone deals helped The Co-operative Group deliver an 85% hike in profits to a record £402m.Last year the Manchester-based group bought supermarket rival Somerfield and merged its financial ser...

Professionals launch MaxAim

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:34:03 +0000

A GROUP of professionals have formed a company which aims to to deliver strategic and financial management advice.MaxAim has been launched by Matt Peters, Simon Oldfield, Chris Cormack, Ian Robinson a...

STG has plan to buy and build in North West

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 16:22:55 +0000

A YORKSHIRE building contractor is on the lookout for acquisitions in the North West as it plans significant expansion in the region.Strategic Team Group is on target to increase turnover 13% to £39m ...

Jobs woe as 81 more Ethel Austin stores will close

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:35:12 +0000

THE administrator of stricken North West clothing retailer Ethel Austin and its sister chain Au Naturale is to close a further 81 stores by the end of the month, with nearly 700 job losses.The latest...

ServicePower falls into loss after restructure

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:26:32 +0000

STOCKPORT-based ServicePower Technologies, which specialises in outsourced field management, has fallen into a loss following its restructure, but added it will reap the benefits of cost saving from 2...

Council confirms talks with Chester phoenix club

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:28:02 +0000

CHESHIRE West and Chester Council has confirmed that it has regained control of the Deva Stadium, and is now in talks with representatives of a phoenix club.The council, which was leasing the stadium ...

Spinningfields sale and leaseback deal completes

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:15:42 +0000

MANCHESTER City Council has completed its purchase of the final significant plots of Spinningfields from Allied London, for an undisclosed sum.Its acquisition of land at 1 and 2 Hardman Square and 2 ...

Manchester at MIPIM round-up

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:24:56 +0000

YESTERDAY brought us a new road that will literally be an information superhighway, a £100m war chest for viable schemes that cannot get funding and a history lesson in regeneration.Manchester\'s MIPI...

Cyprotex rejects bid approach

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:18:05 +0000

AIM-listed North West biotech company Cyprotex has rejected a takeover bid for the business.Shares in the company jumped 35% on March 2 after it revealed it had received the unsolicited approach.Maccl...

MIPIM: City regions should work together, says Manchester Council boss

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:08:11 +0000

THE chief executive of Manchester City Council believes that the Leeds and Manchester city regions can both grow through working together rather than competing with each other.Sir Howard Bernstein tol...

Higher values help Capital & Regional

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:00:57 +0000

IMPROVING commercial property values have helped listed property investor Capital & Regional narrow its losses.The London-based group, which owns The Mall shopping centre in Blackburn and the Great No...

Ineos considers £900m refinancing as it considers options

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:51:29 +0000

THE owner of the Ineos ChlorVinyl plant at Runcorn has proposed a significant payment on its debt through the issue of a secured £900bn bond as it continues to examine a number of future opportunities...