News in Brief: Top firms make award shortlist; Wigan premises for PF Jones & Allied Group, and more . . .
SIX North West companies have been shortlisted for the national Private Business Awards.
The awards, sponsored by accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers and HSBC Private Bank, aims to showcase the best private businesses and underline the sector’s importance to the UK economy.
Liverpool-based distribution and shipping business Bibby Line Group has been shortlisted for Private Business of the Year; Knutsford-based recruitment group de Poel has made the High Growth Business of the Year shortlist; and Manchester-based automotive parts firm Klarius is in the running for the International Business of the Year along with Sale-based recruitment firm Fircroft.
Preston-based supermarket EH Booth & Co has been shortlisted for Family Business of the Year and Knutsford engineer Oliver Valves is up for Technology of the Year.
Nick Boden, senior partner in PwC’s Manchester office, said: “Private businesses are the foundation of the British economy and it is a testament to the strength, resilience and innovation of business in the North West that six of the shortlisted companies come from our region.
“These shortlisted companies truly demonstrate the drive and ambition needed to become, and remain, successful even in tough economic times. We want to celebrate how excellent owners and their families are in their drive to grow their businesses, be great employers and contribute to their local communities.”
The awards will be presented at the Savoy in London on September 8.
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FINANCIAL services firm the Allied Group has acquired new headquarters in Wigan town centre.
It has moved to premises on Standishgate after securing funding from the Royal Bank of Scotland.
The group, which trades as Allied Financial Services, Allied Insurance Services and chartered surveyor Allied McKeon, has also invested a further £350,000 to fit-out the building for its 20 staff.
The move is a key part of Allied’s strategy to raise its profile and grow its current group fee income of £1.7m.
Managing director Alisdair Lindley said: “Moving to the new premises is an essential part of our future plans to grow the various areas within our business.
“It allows us to accommodate current staff numbers within the one location, cater for the further expansion of the businesses and increase our visibility and presence in the town centre.”
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TOW bar and motoring accessories business PF Jones has acquired a new site in Wigan from oil company Total UK.
The Manchester firm, which employs 100 staff, plans to use the property on Edge Green Road to help support the growth of its distribution business.
The purchase was financed by Barclays Corporate in Manchester led by relationship director Steve Berry. The company is now looking for a similar site in the south.
PF Jones started out by supplying diesel services to rail yards and boats at Salford Docks. But after it was acquired by Les Bailey in the 1980s it expanded into other areas such as caravanning equipment and car audio.
Mr Bailey said: “This is a really exciting time for the business. The new site will be used for warehousing to support our distribution sales and to provide parts to the local depots.
“We also have one of the most up-to-date diesel fuel injection repair workshops, to service all types of diesel engines fuel systems from the latest high speed common rail and electronic systems to the very early mechanical museum type engine.”
Steve Berry said: “PF Jones is a longstanding and loyal customer and it was important for Barclays Corporate to structure a deal which supports Les in his expansion of a thriving part of his business.”
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SALFORD technology firm Accumuli has announced that its Tuscany Networks subsidiary has been named “Partner of the Year for Western Europe” by its longstanding customer Infoblox.
Tuscany Networks has been a supplier to US-based network provider Infoblox since 2006.
Will Palmer, managing director of Accumuli, commented: “With the proliferation of IP-enabled devices it is no surprise that Infoblox solutions are used by over 4,750 organisations worldwide, including more than one third of the Fortune 500.
“We are naturally delighted that tuscany networks has been recognised as Partner of the Year for 2011-2012. We believe that we offer the very best in network security and it is encouraging that such a highly respected organisation as Infoblox shares this view.”
