In Brief: Preston North End increases its loan burden, Aer Arran at Blackpool and more…

PRESTON North End has borrowed another £300,000, taking the total amount loaned to the club to £7.4m.

The club has revealed that it drew down the extra cash on November 19, from Guild Ventures Limited under the terms of its existing loan agreements.

Guild Ventures, which has a 28% stake in the Championship club, has now loaned it a total of £6.4m. It is owned by Trevor Hemmings, the Lancashire billionaire leisure industry entrepreneur and owner of Blackpool Tower.

The other loan, for £990,000, is from Friends of Preston North End Limited, of which club chairman Derek Shaw is a director and shareholder.

As with its other draw downs, the club said the money will fund player purchases and ongoing working capital requirements.

Both loans have a repayment date of January 2010, but it is likely that they will be renegotiated.

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IRISH airline Aer Arann is to provide a route to Dublin from Blackpool airport, following Ryanair’s protest withdrawal of its services.

Aer Arann will run the services direct from Blackpool to Dublin from January 5, 2009 – the day after Ryanair ceases all its Blackpool routes in objection to the £10 passenger fee that the airport is introducing from that date.

To counter the £10 Airport Development Fee, the airport will be offering free passenger parking for all departing passengers for up to 15 days.

As well as its daily Dublin service, Ryanair, which has carried over 1.3 million passengers through Blackpool since it began operating in May 2003, has dropped its three times a week service to Girona.

But the airport said further new route announcements are expected.

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THE Manchester-based British Council is looking for a web services supplier to help it market UK education across the world.

The contract, worth up to £1.5m, will cover all web hosting, data management and online advertising relating to the council’s Education UK service.

It said: “The British Council is embarking on an extensive project to strategically develop the work of marketing UK education across the world. This includes Education UK’s core student-facing communications channels to provide an inspirational, helpful and impartial guide to study opportunities and experiences in the UK.”

It is looking for one, or a collection of suppliers to handle the work. The deadline for bids or expressions of interest is January 7. The British Council is a government agency which forges educational and cultural relations between the UK and other countries.

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BROWN Turner Ross, the newly merged Merseyside law firm, has refurbished its Liverpool headquarters.

It has invested in a makeover of its city centre offices on Stanley Street, as well as the installation of a new IT system.

Created in August by the merger of Southport-based Brown Turner Solicitors and Liverpool firm Malcolm J Ross, the firm has four partners, 15 fee earners and 35 employees in total.  It will continue to operate from a base on Lord Street in Southport, as well as in Liverpool.

David Bushell, managing partner, said: “The merger has expanded the range of services and depth of experience the firm can offer its clients.  It also gave us the opportunity to look at how we operate and an important part of this strategy is our offices. They are the first thing a client sees when they visit the firm and therefore it is important to create the right impression.

“Our aim was to refurbish the premises to reflect our position as an ambitious and growing city centre law firm and we are pleased with the results.”

The Royal Bank of Scotland commercial team in Southport provided Brown Turner Ross with funding for the upgrade.

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BAGEL deli company Bagel Nash has opened its second Manchester store on Hardman Boulevard in Spinningfields.

The Leeds-based company provides freshly prepared savoury and sweet bagels, wraps and paninis. It already has a store in the Arndale Centre.
 
Mike Ingall, chief executive of Allied London, which owns Spinningfields, said: “We are keen to offer a range of dining options for workers, residents and visitors at Spinningfields. Bagel Nash is a quality operator which will complement the existing food offering at the development.”