In Brief: US IT firm makes its mark; Knight Frank to sell Sarah Tower; Citypress boost

CALIFORNIAN IT company Infogain,  has set up its European HQ in the North West and is already working with two local companies, Salford-based eSAY and training firm QA.

Infogain, which has opened in serviced offices at Peter House, Oxford Street, is led by Vice President for Europe Mark Collin and employs five people.

The UK office forms part of a broader international expansion into Europe and the Middle East by the US company which has over 1,000 staff worldwide and global development centres in India. Infogain was assisted by inward investment agency MIDAS.

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PROPERTY consultancy Knight Frank’s Manchester office has been appointed to secure a buyer for the Sarah Point apartment and office block in the city’s Northern Quarter.

The partially-completed development comprises 139 one, two, three and four-bed apartments, 20,000sq ft of office space on the ground floor and basement car parking. It was under construction when its parent company, Bashar Issa’s BS Developments went into administration last year.

David Clifton, senior surveyor at Knight Frank Manchester, said: “Although it’s very early days, there has been an encouraging level of initial bid interest in the development and we very much hope to conclude a successful sale.”
The building was recently damaged by a fire in the basement.

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NORTH West communications company Citypress has won a nation-wide PR brief from Constructionline – the government-backed register of pre-qualified contractors and consultants.

Endorsed by the Department for Business and operated by outsourcing group Capita, Constructionline provides a single database of certified suppliers to help organisations build tender lists when awarding construction contracts, predominantly in the public sector.

Citypress’ London and Manchester-based built environment team will run the brief, which includes stakeholder engagement, media relations and direct-to-user communications.

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BARCLAYS  Commercial Bank has launched a new initiative to help its 81,000 business clients battle the  recession.

The Turning the Corner programme combines practical guidance, workshops, industry discussions and networking events to offer business owners and managers specific skills and knowledge that will assist them in meeting the  challenges, and identifying potential opportunities, the  recession presents.

The programme also includes a website with to help decision-making in areas such as human resources, supply chain management, foreign exchange and other finance and management disciplines. See www.barclayscommercial.com/turningthecorner