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EXCLUSIVE: Bernstein's number two to depart council
Eamonn
Boylan, the deputy chief executive of Manchester City Council, is to
leave before the end of the year to become deputy chief executive of the
Homes and Communities Agency (HACA), Insider
understands. As one of Sir Howard Bernstein's deputies, former
housing chief Boylan has been responsible for regeneration and has become
a regular speaker at international events. HACA, headed by ex-Sheffield
City Council chief executive Sir Bob Kerslake, is taking over the
functions of the Housing Corporation and regeneration body English
Partnerships. Manchester
City Council
declined to comment.
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Sliders secures
funding for new factory
Sliders UK, the Preston-based manufacturer of patio doors,
has moved to a new £750,000 manufacturing site in response to continued
business growth, after securing funding from RBS Invoice Finance. The
40,000 sq ft factory in Bamber
Bridge is almost
twice the size of the company's old base and allows it to introduce three
new linear production lines. Sliders expects to recruit an extra 20 staff
in the next six months.
BAA airports in play following
report
The Competition Commission has this morning recommended that
BAA sell two of its three London
airports as well as either Edinburgh or Glasgow. The Commission said it had
found "significant competition problems", adding that "this has
resulted in investment not tailored to the requirements of airport users,
and lower levels and quality of service for both airlines and
passengers". Ahead of its final report in 2009, the BAA Airports
inquiry group will now seek further views on which airports should be sold
and the effectiveness of the current system of regulation. Manchester
Airport Group and Peel Holdings will be among interested observers.
Endless deal a boost for Lancashire site
Private equity firm Endless has entered into a binding
agreement to back a management buyout of Lancashire-based Crown Paints from
its Dutch parent, Akzo Nobel. The terms of the deal are undisclosed –
although £70m has been widely reported - and subject to formal approval
from the European Competition Commission. Howard Luft, chief executive of
Crown Paints, said: "We are planning to invest £2.8m in tanks for storing
solvent-based products – that's not something we would consider if we
weren't sure about the future of the Darwen site."
New technology manager at EV
EV, the Preston, Manchester
and Leeds-based private equity and venture capital provider, has appointed
Ashwin Kumaraswamy as an investment manager in the technology investment
team, working on the RisingStars Growth Funds and SYIF's Pilot Seedcorn
Fund, which provide early-stage and proof-of-concept funding to high-growth
technology companies. He joins having held positions focusing on the
commercialisation of intellectual property from UK universities and the
analysis of technology markets.
It's a plus for AMS
Shares in Advanced Medical Solutions, the Winsford-based
maker of woundcare products, are now being traded on the PLUS market as
well as on AIM. PLUS is based on a quote-driven trading system and is
intended to enhance investor choice, improve liquidity for shareholders and
provide greater access to investors. Macclesfield-based Tertiary Minerals
made the same move earlier this month.
Heap makes his move
Rik Heap has joined the Manchester
office of business recovery specialist Leonard Curtis from KPMG, where he
spent ten years in the restructuring department, the last four leading the
firm's North West
business development operation. Heap, who joins as a director, said: "The
Big Four typically focus on the larger recovery and turnaround deals.
However, there has always been a greater volume of work in the mid-market."
Plain sailing
for former MyTravel execs
In a sign that there is still a thriving leisure market at
the luxury end, two former directors of Rochdale-based MyTravel have
launched a cruise retail business, Cruise118. Having set up following the
merger of MyTravel with Thomas Cook in 2007, Mal Barritt and James Cole
employ 20 staff at Cruise118's Chorley headquarters and a further 15
homeworkers in Northern Ireland. They have appointed another two former
MyTravel execs: UK
managing director John Bloodworth as non-executive chairman and MyTravel
marketing director Tim Marsden as non-executive director.
Plant Impact progresses latest
product
Plant Impact, a Preston-based technology company, has taken the
first step towards selling its latest product. It has submitted the dossier
for European registration of a new product to the UK Pesticide Safety
Directorate, the first step in a product registration process that will
allow Plant Impact to sell and distribute BugOil in Europe
by 2010. BugOil is a non-toxic insect control product based on materials
that already exist in the food chain.
Assured a place on the pitch
Cheadle-based event management specialist Assured Events has
been appointed as Stockport
County FC's
official event management partner. This follows a number of projects
completed for the club, including a Family Fun Day in July 2007 and an Open
Day held before a recent match against Liverpool.
Assured will now take on responsibility for the club's next major project,
the launch of a 125-year anniversary DVD in September.
Working together
A permanent co-working space is set to open at Manchester
Science Park (MSP). The Manchester Digital Development Agency has hosted a
number of co-working days, aimed at people who normally work from home.
These days led Ben Gibbs, an associate at MSP-based Liquid Bronze, to
become involved in forming a co-operative called Fly the Coop. The group
will lease space at MSP to create a dedicated co-working office with
permanent desks, for people working there on a daily basis and others
available to be pre-booked online.
New man at Dabs.com
Bolton-based online retailer Dabs.com has appointed a new
commercial director. David Gould previously worked at Dixons Store Group
for six years, joining the company as trading director in 2002 and taking
on the role of commercial director in 2006. In April 2006 Dabs.com became a
wholly owned subsidiary of BT.
New hires for Daisy
Lancashire-based communications company Daisy has hired a
new product and marketing team in Nick Pike and Cathryn Whitefoot. Before
joining the business, Whitefoot was marketing manager for GWI, a homewares
manufacturing company. Since arriving at Daisy she has taken on
responsibility for enhancing the company's broadband products. Pike brings
his previous experience in IT at Equanet and Dixons Stores Group. At Daisy
he's been working with voice and data technology to develop a new range of
products.
Fit-out firm
stays positive
Morris & Spottiswood, a provider of fit-out, housing and
maintenance services based in Warrington and
Scotland,
has delivered its financial results for 2007. The privately owned business
employs 100 people and reported revenue of £125.3m, up from £124.8m in
2006. Pre-tax profits rose in the same period by 16 per cent from £2.9m to
£3.4m. Clients include Arcadia, Tesco and
the University
of Manchester.
Braemar sees the sun in Germany
Braemar Group, the multi-faceted Hale-based property
investment group, is to launch an open-ended investment company investing
in European solar energy parks. The group predicts yields of above 10 per
cent per year over 20 years. The €90m fund will initially invest in six
German sites, with all power generated supplied on fixed contracts to
German utility companies. The company has already secured the €90m in
initial capital and will wholly own all generation equipment.
TNG moves in
The Tameside office of training and business support
consultancy TNG has moved into its new offices at Ask Developments' St
Petersfield scheme in Ashton-under-Lyne.
The company has taken 3,770 sq ft of office space over three floors of the
first phase of the St Petersfield development, of which 22,000 sq ft is
occupied by Pennine Care NHS Trust. The development is being delivered
through a public-private sector partnership, with £14.5m of public money
already committed to the 13-acre site.
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