Betta Living needs a buyer; Shopping centre has one in £42m deal; and the wall is coming down

THIS week administrators were appointed at Oldham-based Betta Living, with the majority of its 300-strong workforce losing their jobs.

Rising rents pushed the company into a loss, and put pressure on cash flow at the kitchen and bedroom furniture retailer.

Administrators at FRP Advisory have said they are marketing the business for sale.

Meanwhile, Marine Point shopping and leisure complex at New Brighton on the Wirral has a new owner – after a £42.5m deal was sealed this week.

Real estate investment company Aprirose is to buy the development next to New Brighton beach from Liverpool-headquartered Promenade Estates.

It is a popular tourist destination, five minutes from a metro station connecting it with Liverpool city centre, with restaurants, cafes, shopping, a cinema and theatre.

Finally, details on plans for the multi-million pound regeneration Piccadilly Gardens in central Manchester have been revealed.

The public space has a footfall of about 310,000 people a week – that’s 16 million people a year.

Under the proposals there would be £2m worth of investment in improvements to Piccadilly Gardens to make them more attractive and welcoming to families while deterring anti-social behaviour.

Most significantly ‘the wall’ – a source of much controversy across the city – will be coming down.

The Garden improvements are part of a wider £10m investment by L&G which also includes plans to introduce family restaurants and a new coffee outlet.

We sent a reporter out to see what people thought of the proposed changes – see the video below: