In Brief: Hippo Group; Moore and Smalley;

A BLACKBURN car dealer has opened a purpose-built showroom after securing a £900,000 loan.

The Hippo Group, formerly Preston’s, is now operating from the site on Trident Way after investing £2m, with the loan coming from NatWest.

The business, led by father and son team Tom and Richard Preston, was advised by Accrington-based Haworths Chartered Accountants.

Tom Preston said: “Haworths has not only helped with advice on our investment but they have been really supportive throughout the whole adventure. On a day to day basis they deal with payroll and tax and have helped with a number of other business issues. Without the funding we wouldn’t have been able to purchase the land for our new showroom. They didn’t just help secure this finance to enable us to expand, they guided us through the whole process.”

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PRESTON accountant Moore and Smalley has advised records management firm IBEX on its sale to US-based Recall Holdings.

Founded in 1994, the company handles archive and record storage. The value of the deal was not disclosed.

Legal advice to the sellers was provided by a team from Napthens solicitors headed by corporate partner Rob Dobson, together with Benjamin Dredge and Edward Hamilton of the corporate team, and Stacey Carter of the employment team.