In brief: James Briggs; Beever & Struthers;
OLHDAM-based aerosol manufacturer James Briggs has invested £125,000 in its machinery.
The company, which invested more than £220,000 in its manufacturing equipment last year, has moved to strengthen its position in the aerosol paint market by upgrading its bulk paint blending operation.
This includes the installation of brand new sealed holding tanks, as well as improvements to the supporting infrastructure and pipework, at its Royton manufacturing facilities.
The installation, which is due to complete next month, will underpin greater quality, consistency and safety in James Briggs’ delivery of high quality paints and primers to the automotive, construction and other industrial sectors.
In the year to June 30 2014, the company turned over £50m and enjoyed a pre-tax profit of £1.6m.
Newly appointed chief executive Tim Pugh said: “The business’s impressive growth in the last 18 months has been driven by a sustained commitment to upgrade and modernise our manufacturing facilities.
“We have already made significant investments across our operation – reflected in last year’s record turnover – and we expect this next wave of upgrades to further strengthen our position as Europe’s leading supplier of aerosol paints.”
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MARKED rises in long-term debt and rent arrears have been highlighted in the Annual Review of Social Housing by Manchester accountants and business advisers Beever and Struthers.
The survey, the only one of its kind undertaken by auditors in the social housing sector and based on the accounts of the top 100 registered housing providers (RPs), revealed the debt held by RPs had increased to £42.9bn in 2013/14 from £41.3bn in 2012/13 with the sector reporting total borrowing facilities in excess of £70bn, a rise of £3.5bn or 5%.
Rory O’Carroll, partner at Beever and Struthers, said: “Registered Providers continue to face significant challenges whilst continuing to develop properties and maintaining expected customer satisfaction targets.
“The absence of grant has resulted in increased diversification and lending in order to meet objectives.”
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A WIRRAL family business is set to make significant carbon and financial savings after investing £250,000 in renewable energy technology.
Halliday Funeral Supplies has installed a £220,000 199kW HDG biomass boiler – one of the leading models available on the market – as well as a £30,000 state-of-the-art waste processing unit that takes waste and shreds it into a size that can go into the boiler which, in turn, provides the business with its hot water and heat.
A 5,000-litre insulated heat storage tank further enhances the system’s efficiency when supplying large demands for heating and hot water during the coldest months of the year.
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INNOVATIVE business Extreme Low Energy, based on the Wirral, has secured a £50,000 loan from the Start Up Loans Company.
The loan was secured after Woods Squared Accountants director Alan Woods, introduced ELE to Wirral Chamber of Commerce.
Woods and the Chamber helped ELE apply for the funding and after extensive due diligence, SUL award the company its largest ever loan – £30,000 on day one and an option on a further £20,000.
Last month ELE won the national Most Innovative Small Business category in the Government-backed GREAT Faces of British Business competition.
