LDP Business 25.05.11

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TRADE volumes passing through thePort of Liverpool could treble, it hasbeen claimed.

A director at economic developmentagency, The Mersey Partnership, madethe claim while commenting on TMP’sMersey SuperPort plan in an LDPBusiness video released today.

Mark Basnett, director of invest-ment at TMP said: “The potentialwithin the port and other projects that

are looking to come forward, we canincrease a huge amount, maybe by200%.”

Currently just under 30m tonnes ofcargo is handled at the Port of Liv-erpool every year, with another 7mpassing through the Manchester ShipCanal.

If Mr Basnett’s forecasts are correct,that figure would rise to 90m tonnes atthe Port of Liverpool.

Gary Hodgson, managing director ofPeel Ports, which owns the Port of Liv-erpool, said: “We are very close to lotsand lots of population.

“We are relatively small comparedwith some ports in Asia, and there’ssome catching up to do.

“We have huge opportunity in termsof logistics facilities, but the key isbeing part of a supply chain.”

The SuperPort plan includes thecreation of a new £200m in-river con-tainer berth at Seaforth that would beable to handle the world’s largest cargoships. Another part of the plan is therecently announced 1.4m sq ft expan-sion of Stobart’s container handlingfacilities at Widnes.

Peter Nears, head of strategic devel-

opment at Peel Holdings, described theplan as a step change.

He added: “Looking back to the his-tory of Liverpool, Jesse Hartley in 1844opened five docks in one go. GladstoneDock was built in 1927. It had the abil-ity to cater for any ship afloat. Thatwas a step change. Then containeris-ation in Seaforth in the 1960s wasanother step change.

“We are discussing with a numberof users (of the in-river berth).”

SuperPortplancouldseeMerseytradesoarMARKS & Spencer

was the FTSE 100Index’s top faller yes-terday, despite post-ing a 13% rise inannual profits, asanalysts fretted thatits results could be“as good as it gets”for the retailer.

The high street bell-wether, which hasenjoyed a strong runin recent weeks, fell11.4p to 385.6p, ornearly 3%, asinvestors looked bey-ond the rise infull-year profits to£714.3m and notedthe group’s caution.

Despite a shareslide at M&S, the FTSE100 Index staged amodest recovery.

MARKET REPORT:PAGE 15

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Bank backsdentist’sbuyoutA SOUTHPORT dental prac-tice is being acquired bythree of its senior dentists.

David Collinson, PeterEquizi and Colin Farring-ton, of the Hoghton StreetDental Practice, are buyingthe share of the businessheld by their former col-league John Rostron, whois retiring after 40 years.

The business has been inSouthport since 1886 butnow has approximately30,000 patients.

The Co-operative Bank isproviding finance over aperiod of 10 years.

The bank’s Ian Heesomsaid: “We’re delighted toprovide the funding for thedentists to acquire John’sshare of the business.”Ian Heesom, seated, with, from left, practice partners David Collinson, Colin Farrington and Peter Equizi

EXCLUSIVEbyBillGleesonLDPBUSINESSEDITORbill.gleeson@liverpool.com

■ SEE Pages 8&9 for full report onthe LDP superport debate

Councils joinforces forregenerationOFFICIALS in Liverpooland Sefton are joiningforces for the nextwave of regenerationin Merseyside.

PAGE 2

CEO in callCLEANING firmProventec needs tomove into profit soon,its chief executivesays.

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2 Wednesday, May 25, 2011

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TONY McDONOUGH’S BUSINESS BEAT

‘If Ryanair keeps raising itsfares, then we may haveto ask what is it for?’

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1 B&M snaps up 11 Focus stores2 Bean opens on Princes Dock3 Stobart plans for the future4 Peter Hook speaks at festival5 Hancock: firms join Big Societyldpbusiness.co.uk

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Bidtodriveinvestmentasregenerationlooksnorth

Europeangoal forMerseycompanyA BOOTLE flexiblepackaging specialist isflying the flag for theUK in a European busi-ness competition.

Weir & Carmichael isrepresenting the coun-try in the EuropeanBusiness Awards,sponsored by HSBC.

The firm, which wasfounded in 1955, is oneof the representativesfor the UK Trade &Investment InnovationAward for theirproduct BritwrapReusable Transit Pack-aging.

Britwrap is designedto protect products dur-ing transit, while cut-ting packaging costs,waste, damagedreturns and encour-aging correct manualhandling.

Weir & Carmichaelcommercial directorMartin Ellioth said:“We’re absolutelythrilled to be selectedto represent the UnitedKingdom.”

Adrian Tripp,European BusinessAwards chief executive,said: “We are lookingforward to seeing Weir& Carmichael in thenext round.”

Final category awardwinners will beunveiled in Barcelonaon November 22.

Firstfundingawardforregion’seco-friendlysector

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OFFICIALS in Liverpool and Seftonare joining forces to ensure the nextwave of regeneration in Merseysidebenefits Liverpool and Bootle.

The North Liverpool and SouthSefton Regeneration Framework(SRF), which is being launched thisweek, aims to showcase the area topotential investors.

The document, produced by Liver-pool City Council and Sefton Councilalongside Liverpool Vision and theHomes and Communities Agency,focuses on regeneration projectsalready planned for the area.

They include Peel’s LiverpoolWaters redevelopment and the plans tocreate a “superport” at the Port of Liv-erpool in Bootle.

The report focuses on three areas –Prosperity, People and Places.

Under Prosperity, the report looks atprojects to encourage economicgrowth in the area.

That includes Liverpool Waters, theredevelopment plans for Everton FCand Liverpool FC, and the £150m Pro-ject Jennifer regeneration scheme inEverton.

Under People, the report lists waysin which agencies could “address thewide range of social issues” in theregion. That includes improving stand-ards in the education system, creatinga region-wide Health Plan and promot-ing the arts.

And, under Places, the SRF’s part-ners pledge to keep working toimprove housing stock, strengthenlocal “district centres” such as Bootletown centre, and improve the trans-port infrastructure.

Ian McCarthy, programme directorat Liverpool Vision, said the documentcreated a long-term strategy for northLiverpool and south Sefton.

He said: “We’re creating a focus onthe north of the city. There have beengreat strides made in the south of Liv-erpool, and the city centre has been

transformed over a ten-year period.But the focus for the longer term is tocreate the right sort of conditions forinvestment by putting it into context,as this report does.”

Liverpool City Council leader, Coun-cillor Joe Anderson, said: “There is astrong and compelling case for the pos-itive regeneration of north Liverpool.

“It includes some of the city’s, andindeed the country’s, most deprivedcommunities. But it also has somemajor assets and unique opportunitiesthat offer huge potential for regener-ation, including Liverpool Waters, theinvestment and development of thePort, Everton Park and Liverpool andEverton football clubs.

“It’s our collective job – as politic-ians, officers, residents and businesspeople – to make the most of theseassets to secure a better future for thispart of the city and make it a fantasticplace to live, work and visit.

“We are working together to lobbycentral Government, attract invest-ment and improve the prospects of res-idents and businesses.”

Alan Lunt, director of built envir-onment at Sefton Council, said thepublic sector needed to ensure theright infrastructure was in place soprivate firms can invest in the area.

He said: “If the housing offer isattractive and the schools are well-per-forming, people will come to live close

to their places of work. With Liverpoolcity centre nearby, plus the job oppor-tunities that will come from LiverpoolWaters and the port, we need to makesure the infrastructure is right sopeople can live on the doorstep ofwhere they work.”■ THE latest edition of the LDP Busi-ness magazine, free with the LiverpoolDaily Post tomorrow, features anin-depth report on the regeneration ofsouth Sefton and a big feature on Liv-erpool’s superport plans.

The magazine also includes an inter-view with Tim Bacon, managing dir-ector of Living Ventures, as well as areview of Liverpool’s popular Pic-colino restaurant.

TOP FIVE

Liverpool City Council leader, Cllr Joe Anderson, with Sefton Council leader, CllrPeter Dowd, for the launch of their joint regeneration plan; inset: the latestedition of LDP Business magazine, out tomorrow Picture: RAY FARLEY

byAlistairHoughtonLDPBUSINESSSTAFFalistair.houghton@liverpool.com

RUNCORN-BASED hydrogenfuel cell developer ACALEnergy has received a £400,000investment from The NorthWest Fund for Energy andEnvironmental.

The fund is managed byWarrington-based CT Invest-

ment Partners, and is the firstinvestment from the £20menergy fund, which is part of a£185m fund to support NorthWest small businesses, backedby the European InvestmentBank and the EuropeanRegional Development Fund.

Adam Workman, a partnerat CT Investment Partners,said: “With significant finan-cial backing and managementsupport, ACAL Energy is nowworking towards commercial-isation of its fuel cell techno-logy which will radically

improve reliability and costeffectiveness.”

The chief executive of TheHeath Technical and BusinessPark based firm Dr SB Chasaid its technology willdeliver substantial reductionsin CO² emissions, and help

build the North West regioninto a centre for low-carbonindustries.

Andy Leach, chief executiveof North West Business Fin-ance, which is overseeing the£185m pot, said he looks for-ward to further investments.

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3Wednesday, May 25, 2011

The company has refitted its exist-ing stores, backing that investmentwith advertising campaigns. Woodsays the firm has also been helped bythe fact that major equipment man-ufacturers are promoting tech-nological innovations to their clubs.

The chain’s success at improvingits stores is shown, says Wood, by the13.9% rise in like-for-like sales at itsstores in the 13 weeks to May 1.

He says: “More customers are com-ing into our stores to buy morebecause we’re offering what theywant – which is a combination ofrange, service and value.”

The company has also launched astore opening programme.

“We’ve opened 14 stores in the last2½ years, including one in Aintree,”says Wood. “We’re investing becauseof the belief we have in our propos-ition.

“The business was started in War-rington. Its first few stores werearound the North West. But then itgrew, particularly into Scotland.

“We are now a national retailer,but there are some towns and citieswe aren’t in – Oxford, Swindon, Read-ing. They’re pretty sizeable places inwhich we should be represented.

“We cover the North West quitewell, and we’re OK in Scotland. Butthe big opportunities for us are inthe Midlands and the South.”

ferent turn when he was asked tojoin American Golf.

The company was founded byRobert and Howard Bilton in the1970s. In 2004, it underwent a man-agement buyout backed by privateequity firm LDC.

“I was called by one of the privateequity team looking after the invest-ment in 2008,” says Wood. “Theywere looking to take the business tothe next level.

“It was still in that transition frombeing an entrepreneurial business tobeing a professional retail business.That’s what I’ve been working on.

“We already had good knowledgeof golf. Now I want to make this com-pany a better retailer.”

Wood joined American Golf aschairman, becoming chief executivelater that year.

Sales of golf equipment did dip inthe recession, but Wood says Amer-ican Golf weathered the downturnbetter than its competitors.

“We probably saw a 10% fall in themarket,” he says.

“During that time, we performedpretty well. We grew our overall salespartly on the basis of store openings,but our like-for-like sales performedsignificantly better than -10%.

“We have now started to see someimprovement – partly generated bythis crop of golfers doing well.”

profile

Battleforgolfingtopspotpushessportschainuptheleaderboard

AS THEY battle it out on the world’sgolf courses for the world numberone slot, it’s unlikely Lee Westwoodand Luke Donald give much thoughtto the Warrington business world.

But their battle for supremacy hasgiven a timely boost to one of thattown’s best-known brands – Amer-ican Golf.

This week, the Warrington-basedspecialist golfing retailer announcedthat sales for the year to January 31stood at £86.6m – up 20% on the pre-vious year.

Much of that growth came throughstore openings, as well as the acquis-ition of a golf website in March.

But Nick Wood, American Golf ’schief executive, says that the strongrecent performance of British andEuropean golfers on the PGA tourhas helped stoke more interest in thesport – and therefore in his business.

“Europe has got six of the top 10golfers,” he says. “When you have adebate every week as to whether LeeWestwood and Luke Donald is theworld number one, it hits the newsmore than when Tiger Woods was atthe top for eight years.”

Leicester-born Wood went to Cam-bridge University before joiningprivate equity firm 3i, where he soongained hands-on experience man-aging its investments.

In 1997, he took that experience tothe Dixons Group, where he spent 10years. He ran businesses includingthe Dixons chain of high street storesand mobile phone retailer The Link.

But, in 2008, his career took a dif-

AlistairHoughtonspeakstoNICKWOOD,chiefexecutiveofAmericanGolf

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American Golf, led bychief executive NickWood, sold more than6m golf balls last year

q&a

That expansion will continue, saysWood, at a steady pace.

“In time, our proposition couldsupport about 140 stores,” he says.

“But we won’t get there overnight,because we’re looking for a specifictype of property, close to golf coursesand fitting the social demography ofthe golfer – and the property needs tobe at the right price.

“We’ll probably look to open six toeight stores a year over the next fiveyears.”

In 2004, American Golf bought SWGolf, the operator of the online-golf.co.uk brand. The group now gen-erates 15% of its sales online, with30% of those sales coming from over-seas.

“It was the right strategic move forour business,” says Wood. “It’s givenus a strong position in the internetspace in the UK, but also in Europe.

“There are two areas of golf thatare growing – one is online sales, theother is the European market. SWgave us access to both of those.

“American Golf ’s website is nowintegrated on the same platform asonlinegolf.co.uk. We’re getting syn-ergies from the acquisition and ben-efiting from their experience.”

The average handicap of AmericanGolf ’s retail staff, says Wood, iseight. The enthusiasm they have forthe sport is passed on to customers,which in turn helps drive sales.

“They are there to help the amat-eur golfer improve their game,” saysWood. “The only way they can dothat is if they know more than theaverage golfer. It’s part of our pro-position as a specialist retailer thatwe have strong staff knowledge.

“If you’re fanatical about golf, thenwe’ve got a great job for you whereyou can talk about golf all day.”

Wood is, of course, a keen golferhimself, playing off a handicap of 18.

“But my colleagues call me

‘streaky’,” he smiles. “I play verywell for about three holes, and thenI’m all over the place.”

Those colleagues, says Wood, seehim as an “open and collaborative”manager.

“Some people would say I’mdemanding,” he adds, “but at thesame time I have a reputation forbeing very fair in terms of whatthose demands are.”

Wood also prides himself on takingtime to explore the company’s storenetwork.

“Every summer, me and my oper-ations director visit every store,” hesays. “We meet the store teams to geta feel for what they deal with day in,day out.

“It’s a job that’s getting bigger –there were only 65 stores when westarted out.”

Wood spends three days a week atthe company’s Warrington headquar-ters, spending the other days visitingsuppliers or the company’s e-com-merce base, in Harlow.

Wood is based in London, where hehas lived for 18 years.

“I get the 5.39am from Euston toWarrington most Mondays,” he says.“I’m still at my desk before most ofthe office.”

Outside work, he spends as muchtime as he can with his wife andnine-year-old twin daughters.

Wood remains upbeat about thefuture of his business, taking theview that, if it can negotiate a 10%fall in its market, then it iswell-placed to take advantage whenthe economy recovers.

“We give the amateur golfer theright kit to improve their game,” hesays. “If we get that right, we will getmore people buying from us and ourbusiness will improve.

“I’m proud of what I’ve achieved atAmerican Golf, but there’s still a jobto be done.”

Age: 45Biggest achievement in business:There’s a moment at a business whereyou feel everybody is going in the samedirection, and working together to beatthe competition. I felt that at The Link in2003, and it’s feeling like that at Amer-ican Golf at the momentStill to achieve: I’d like to travel the

world a bit more. You don’t get to dothat when you run a business – you mightjust see LA for three days while you visit asupplierBest advice received: Always make adecision, but always be the first to knowwhether that decision is right. That’s par-ticularly valid in retail, where we need totake a lot of decisions frequently


WavessplashesoutinUKdrive

Waves’s David Wiles, left, and Mike Taylor, of Liverpool Vision

ContractwinsdriveAbbeyon

World-classexamresult

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HAULIER Abbey Logisticshas its foot firmly on theaccelerator after securingthree major contracts.

It has signed long-termagreements with globalgiants Cargill and Unilever totransport bulk liquids fromNorthern Europe to the UKworth more than £1m a year.

Its palletised division –which was created last yearafter acquiring TP FarrellTransport – has grown stead-ily in its first year and has

now won a new contract dueto start next month with apan-European Customer withoperations in Ellesmere Port.The contract will require 10trucks and 15 trailers tostart.

The company, whichemploys 250 people from itsBootle base, recentlyrebranded from Abbey RoadTanks to Abbey LogisticsGroup to better reflect therange of services on offer andhas set out a green agenda

with all vehicles bearing theslogan “on the road to agreener future”.

The change is part of itsstrategy which it began in2009 to add to its core offer-ing of domestic bulk liquidtransport.

It has diversified into bulkpowder transport, palletisedtransport and European bulkliquid transport in additionto its core business which isbulk liquid transport in theUK.

A NEW nationwide support agency for smallfirms has been launched in Liverpool.

Speke-based Waves Enterprise will sell busi-ness growth and development services andtraining programmes to firms of all sizes andstages of development.

It is an extension of the Waves Sirolli modelwhich created three projects across the city in2007.

Each project funded a business facilitator,backed by a panel of volunteers comprisinglocal residents and businesses in the area whoprovided free advice and support for newfirms, through their facilitator.

Waves will continue to offer free help forfirms in central and South Liverpool, butprofits from Waves Enterprise – which is sup-ported by the city’s economic developmentcompany Liverpool Vision – will help fundWaves’s free services for local firms.

David Wiles, chair of Waves and chief exec-utive of Waves Enterprise, said: “There is littledoubt that the future success of our economywill depend on the success of our small andmedium-sized enterprises.

“High-quality business support is vital andin these times of reduced public spending webelieve that we now offer business supportsolutions that are affordable, effective and areof real benefit to business.”

He added: “The new Waves Enterprisemodel draws upon the considerable talents ofthe Waves facilitation panel as well as a ded-icated management team to provide a morecomprehensive service.

“It is the realisation of a long-held vision forthe team of business owners and consultantswho have worked with us since 2007.

“Our first weeks of operation have seen ourfirst clients through the doors and they arealready beginning to see results.”

Mike Taylor, deputy chief executive of Liv-erpool Vision, said: “Waves Enterprise hasresponded to the reduction in public fundingby developing a whole range of low-cost ser-vices businesses will want and can afford,helping to unlock entrepreneurial talent andbuilding on the city’s growing business suc-cess.

“We need to reduce the dependency of thecity on public sector jobs, keeping what we’vegot, but also to help people who want to set upin business in every way we can, creating newjobs and wealth.

“We wish the initiative every success.”

A LIVERPOOL traineeaccountant has been placedfirst out of more than 27,000candidates worldwide.

Simon Ashworth, whoworks at Grant Thornton’sLiverpool office, scored 98%in his ACCA PerformanceManagement paper.

He studied at Kaplan,

which is based in the CottonExchange, in Liverpool’s com-mercial district.

Nick Drape, tutor at train-ing firm Kaplan, said: “Frommy point of view, it was clearthat Simon took to the subjectwell from day one.

“He clearly puts a lot ofeffort in to his studies and

the prize was just rewards forall that hard work. As a tutor,such events make you veryproud.”

Mr Ashworth added: “I amover the moon with this res-ult and would like to thankmy tutor at and colleagues atGrant Thornton for their sup-port”.


commercial and financial position.The group’s EBITDA (earnings beforeinterest, tax, depreciation and amort-isation) loss of £423,000 in thesix-month period is a considerableimprovement in the group’s perform-ance, but it is still a loss and as suchthese losses must be stemmed asquickly as possible as Proventec triesto return to profit.”

Administrative costs have been cutby 12%; the group said the janitorialsupplies market remains robust; and itachieved “positive results” from a clin-ical trial of its steam cleaning equip-ment for the Durham and DarlingtonNHS Trust, and said that the potentialgrowth opportunities for industrialsteam cleaning equipment are “signi-ficant”.

However, Mr Chestnutt acknow-ledged that the opportunities for itsindustrial operation are tempered bythe fact that each customer currentlyrequires a “bespoke solution”.

Nevertheless, chairman MichaelHough said the board “continues tolook for opportunities that willstrengthen the group and improve itsperformance”.

Proventec’s shares were readmittedto the Alternative Investment Market(AIM) on December 8 last year after asix-month absence.

Its stock had been suspended afterthe breakdown of refinancing talks.

But trading recommenced after thecompany agreed its debt for equityswap with InnoConcepts NV afterlengthy negotiations.

SPECIALIST cleaning companyProventec has more than halved itsinterim losses, but chief executiveDavid Chestnutt said it was imperativefor the company to stem losses andproduce a profit.

The Rodney Street-based businesshas developed steam cleaning tech-niques to combat hospital superbugssuch as MRSA and C-difficile whichhave also been developed for use inindustrial sectors.

Last year, it underwent a majorrefinancing through a debt for equityswap with key Dutch shareholderInnoConcepts NV.

The deal has helped reduce costs,but the company still reported apre-tax loss of £715,000 in the sixmonths to March 31, although thiscompared with a £1.6m loss last year.

Turnover grew by 6% in the sixmonth period to £7.5m.

Mr Chestnutt said: “Having restruc-tured the group’s finances, the focusduring the period has been on drivingsales and developing our markets.

“Despite the continued difficult trad-ing conditions Proventec has reporteda 6% increase in revenues compared tothe same period last year.”

He added: “We have reported a sig-nificantly reduced loss compared tothe previous period and the boardstrives to identify new growth oppor-tunities to put the group in a stronger

Charityin call tobusinessleadersLIVERPOOL charityNeurosupport isappealing to theregion’s business com-munity to help itimprove its profile andfund-raising efforts.

The Norton Streetorganisation providesnon-medical advice topeople with neurolo-gical conditions andtheir families, friendsand carers.

It says neurologicalconditions are oftenmisunderstood andstigmatised by society.

Chief executiveMaureen Kelly said:“As a result, the charityseeks to combat this byoffering up-to-dateinformation, increas-ing the awareness ofneurological cond-itions, advance discus-sion and debate, nur-ture self-confidenceand independence, put-ting forward examplesof ability, and pushingfor improved servicesfor people with neuro-logical conditions.”

As part of her init-iative to improveprovision in the com-munity, she is propos-ing to create theNeurosupport NorthWest Business Develop-ment Board and isappealing for up to 12leading business peopleto offer their expertiseat monthly early morn-ing meetings.

She said they wouldact as a “soundingboard” for proposalsand fundraising events.

Anyone wishing toput themselves forwardto join the developmentboard is asked to [email protected] or [email protected] orcall 0151-293 2999 andspeak to either Alec orMaureen.

Icelandleadsretailpackassales increasebeatsrivalsFROZEN food chain Icelandheaped pressure on potentialbidders yesterday by emer-ging as one of the winnersfrom the industry’s latestsales figures.

Revenues at Deeside-basedIceland increased 5.7% in the12 weeks to May 16, beatingthe grocery market as awhole, which saw growth of

4.8%, according to figuresreleased by Kantar World-panel.

Morrisons, the UK’s fourthlargest supermarket, is under-stood to be mulling a £1.5bnfor the chain, but the strongperformance could entice it,or other potential bidders, topay more.

Iceland counts for 1.9% of

the grocery market. The fig-ures also reveal that discountsupermarkets Aldi and Lidlsaw their sales grow by 15.4%and 16.1% respectively, ascash-strapped shoppers con-tinued to tighten their belts inthe face of soaring inflation,tax hikes and spending cuts.German chain Aldi now has arecord 3.4% of food and drink

sales. The grocery market,which had seen sales growthof just 2.6% in the 12 weeks toMarch 20, was boosted byrecent hot weather, the RoyalWedding and Easter, saidKantar. Sales were up 7.8% inthe four weeks to May 15.Edward Garner, communica-tions director at Kantar, said:“A rising tide lifts all boats

and the top retailers per-formed well this monthbuoyed by the lifted marketgrowth rate.”

Waitrose was among the topperformers, with sales up8.8%, increasing its marketshare to 4.3% from 4.1%.

Supermarket leader Tescoincreased its market share to30.7% from 30.6%.

CCTVfirmwinsWirralcontract Taxwarning

Proventec’slosseshalveasdashforprofitstarts

Proventec chief executive David Chestnutt said the firm’s focus wason ‘driving sales and developing our markets’

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LIVERPOOL accountancy firm Mitchell Char-lesworth is warning restaurant owners andother cash businesses in Merseyside that HMRevenue & Customs is planning a clampdown.

The firm said HMRC has reported that Lon-don restaurants dodging tax will be contactedin the next few weeks before it rolls out itsinvestigations to the North West.

MERSEYSIDE CCTV special-ist OSS Security has won acontract for a Wirral scheme.

The installation, worth£70,000, is set to cover allareas of the Marine Point pro-ject in New Brighton, which isbeing led by Neptune Wirral.

The development is due toopen in September andincludes a 24,000 sq ft casino,an eight-screen 3D digitalcinema, a Morrison’s super-market, a restaurant plaza, aTravelodge and free car park.

The system includes a mix

of “point and go” fully func-tional dome and static cam-eras. The point and go domeshave technology which allowsthe operator of the system topoint the on screen cursor to aposition where the dome willautomatically respond to.

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Timpsoniskey-notespeakeratawards

RunServices inschoolrevamp

BorrowingfigurescastdoubtonGovernment’sdeficitdrive

John Timpson, pictured here when Childline founder Esther Rantzen came to thank him and his firm fortheir generous support, led a management buyout in 1983 of the company, which dates back to 1869

THE chairman of shoe repair andkey-cutting chain Timpson will be thekeynote speaker at this year’s Liver-pool Daily Post Regional BusinessAwards.

The awards ceremony, the mostprestigious event in Merseyside’sbusiness year, will be held at Liver-pool’s Anglican Cathedral onThursday, June 23.

John Timpson will be the event’skeynote speaker while the night willbe compered by journalist-turned-celebrity dancer John Sergeant.

Mr Sergeant has previously workedas a politics reporter for the BBC andITN, and famously withdrew from the2008 Strictly Come Dancing after astorm of protests about his success inthe competition.

Categories include the LiverpoolChamber of Commerce Exporter ofthe Year Award and the DLA PiperBusiness Person of the Year title.

This year, the KPMG Business ofthe Year award – which has pre-viously been won by outstandingfirms Cammell Laird and PrincesFoods – will be fought out betweenlogistics group Stobart, vouchers andgift card firm Park Group, andSkelmersdale-based Hotter ComfortConcept Shoes.

The full shortlist can be read onlineat www.regionalbusinessawards.co.uk.

John Timpson has led Timpsonsince 1983, and has seen it grow into a£125m-turnover business.

He joined the original family foot-wear business, William Timpson, soonafter graduating from NottinghamUniversity, and in 1970 became the dir-ector responsible for buying.

The company was bought by theUDS Group in 1973, and Mr Timpsoncontinued his rise through the ranks.

But, in 1983, he led a £42m man-agement buyout of the company. And,in 1987, he sold its shoe shops andbegan concentrating on the shoerepair and key cutting business.

Timpson has since diversified intoengraving, watch repairs, dry clean-ing and photo processing.

In 1995, it bought the 120-shop Auto-magic chain, while in 2003 he boughtMinit UK and its 200 repair shops. InJune, 2008, it bought 40 Sainsbury’sconcessions, and in December thatyear it bought 187 Klick and Max

THE Government’s deficitreduction plans were dealt ablow yesterday after officialfigures revealed that lastmonth’s borrowing figureswere the highest ever recor-ded for the month of April.

Public borrowing, exclud-ing financial interventionssuch as bank bail-outs, hit£10bn, compared with £7.3bnthe previous year, said theOffice for National Statistics(ONS).

The figure, which is higherthan City expectations of£6.5bn, will cast doubt onwhether the Government canmeet its target of bringing thedeficit down to £122bn this

financial year. The ONS saidtax receipts fell year on year,which had been boosted tothe tune of £3.5bn a yearearlier by the tax on bankers’bonuses.

However, there was somegood news for the Govern-ment as borrowing figures forthe year to March 2011 wererevised downwards to£139.4bn, from £141.1bn.

This was mainly caused bytax receipts being boostedafter VAT was hiked to 20%from 17.5% previously, saidthe ONS.

But the higher-than-expec-ted borrowing in Aprilpushed the Government’s

debt to a record £910.1bn, or60.1% of GDP.

A spokesman for the Treas-ury said: “One-off factorsaffected borrowing thismonth, but it is clear fromthe downward revision to lastyear’s borrowing figures thatthe Government’s deficitreduction strategy is makingheadway in dealing with ourunsustainable deficit.”

The Treasury said thebonus tax caused a glut ofpayments last April. Its newlevy on bank’s balance sheetswill raise more money thanthe bonus tax but will bespread more evenlythroughout the year.

RUN SErvices have been appointed by GB BuildingSolutions and Manchester City Council toredevelop a Manchester school in a project worthmore than £300,000.

The Liverpool-based regeneration firm willtransform Lily Lane Primary School, in Moston, inan 18-week project, extending the nursery buildingwith the construction of two extra classrooms.

Nigel Ward, technical manager at Run Services,said: “We are building two extra classrooms com-plete with modern facilities to create further spacefor the children.

“Building work on schools is a key growth areafor us and we have recently completed severalsuccessful school projects and we are reallypleased to add this scheme to our portfolio.”

Other school schemes Run has recently com-pleted include the refurbishment of Abraham MossLearning Centre, in Crumpsall.

Spielmann photo processing stores.Today, the Timpson chain has morethan 800 branches nationwide.

Mr Timpson, who lives in Cheshire,has five children. He and his wife,Alex, were foster carers for 29 years,during which time they fostered morethan 80 children.

In 2000, he wrote a book, Dear

James, in which he passes lessons onto his son. Last year, he publishedUpside Down Management: A Com-mon Sense Guide to Better Business.

He was awarded a CBE in 2004.■ TO BOOK places at this year’sevent, please call 0151 472 2422.

Single places cost £95 plus VAT. Atable of ten is £950, plus VAT.

LIVERPOOL propertyauctioneer Venmoresays its May event gen-erated sales of morethan £1.2m.

The firm, which wel-comed BBC TV’s Homesunder the Hammer tofilm the auction for anup and coming show,offered 47 lots for saleat the auction whichwas held at the HiltonHotel, in Liverpool One.

High levels of pre-auction activity resul-ted in 10 propertiesbeing sold prior to theevent, including Lot 11,The Stables Bar, in Gar-ston.

The auction saw 60%of the residential lotson offer sold andattracted more than300 people.

Nick Ball, head ofauctions at Venmore,said: “It was reallyencouraging to see somany investors inattendance which res-ulted in some compet-itive bidding wars.

“We had a packed outauction room at theHilton this month, andthere are still someopportunities to securesome great propertiesincluding lot 38, aprime city centre prop-erty located in SirThomas Street.”

Latest figures fromauction data specialist,Essential InformationGroup, showed thenumber of propertiessuccessfully sold atauction in April was7% higher when com-pared to the sameperiod in 2010.

James Kersh, of Liv-erpool’s Sutton Kersh,said: “There has been anoticeable improve-ment in activity in theauction market.”

VenmoreTV auctionnets£1.2m-plus

[email protected]

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MattJohnson

TurbulenceinMiddleEasthitsHolidaybreakrevenues

Franchisemodel‘thrivingin UK’THE North West fran-chise industry is hold-ing steady in the face oftough economic cond-itions, a survey reveals.

Franchised busi-nesses in the regiongenerated £1.3bn lastyear – the same as in2009 – according to thestudy by NatWest andthe British FranchiseAssociation (BFA).

Nationally, in 2010,franchising furtherincreased turnover by£600m to £12.4bn.

Since 2006, the sec-tor’s turnover, andnumber of franchisesystems, have bothgrown by 15%, despitea UK GDP growth rateof only 9.4% in thesame period.

The number of fran-chise systems operatingin the UK has grown to897 over the past year,increasing the numberof franchise businessunits to 36,900.

An extra 56,000 jobshave been created, tak-ing total employmentin the sector to 521,000.Franchising is alsohelping to drive inter-national trade.

Around a third of UKfranchisors have unitslocated outside of theUK, additionally, 38%of domestic only fran-chises plan to expandabroad.

Average start-upcosts also reduced for asecond year to £46,600.

Brian Smart, dir-ector general of theBFA, said: “Yet again,franchising has demon-strated its inherenttenacity and stability,despite a tough climatelast year.

“This means manymore sustainable busi-ness start-ups and jobshave been created byethical franchising –further helping the UKeconomy.”

JurystilloutasCameronmovestorelaunchmalignedBigSociety

THE owner of school trips firm PGLsaid its adventure holidays arm faceda £1.5m hit to profits this year, due tocancellations and lower bookingscaused by the uprisings in the MiddleEast and North Africa.

Cheshire-based Holidaybreak saidthe business, which includes the brandExplore, had enjoyed a period of “verystrong trading” prior to the disruption.

It said the uprisings led to highlevels of cancellations and lower levels

of forward bookings, as well asincreased costs in dealing with the dis-ruption.

The events are estimated to havecost the division around £1m in lostprofit in the first half of the financialyear, with a further £500,000 in thesecond half.

It has refined its product offering tofocus on more profitable tours but saidsales for the adventure arm were still3% below last year.

Losses in adventure rose to £2mfrom £600,000 a year earlier in the sixmonths to March 31, contributing towider losses for the group over the

seasonally quieter half-year of £19.2m,up from £17.7m last year.

Holidaybreak was also impacted bytougher trading conditions in itsSuperbreak hotels division, wherehalf-year profits fell £300,000 to £4.2m.

Hotel sales are currently 9% belowlast year, although this is partly due tothe loss of lower-margin airport hotelcontracts with large travel agents.

Holidaybreak said its education arm– its biggest operation and much lessexposed to discretionary spending –continued to trade well, with 96% ofrevenues already secured for this fin-ancial year and 39% for 2012.

The company’s PGL UK centres willbe accommodating around 6,000schools at sites including Liddington,in Wiltshire, and Windmill Hill, on theSussex Downs, during this year.

It also reported an “excellent trad-ing performance” from Meininger fol-lowing the acquisition of a 50% stakein the Berlin-based business, whichhas city centre sites near cultural loc-ations, including in Cologne, Frank-furt, Vienna, London and Munich.

Chief executive Martin Davies said:“We have delivered a resilient per-formance in the first half despite thedifficult trading environment.”

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ONE of David Cameron’s mainfocuses when coming to power justover 12 months ago – his desire tocreate a Big Society – has beenkicked around by all and sundry,

applauded by some and ridiculed byothers.

This week, the PM has returned tohis theme to promote the Big Society.

This time out, he has played to theperceived strength of his case byzooming in on the way British cit-izens currently view charitabledonations and volunteering.

In a renewed effort to promote theBig Society, he is calling for us togive more to charity – in terms ofboth time and money.

Downing Street strategists arelooking at how social networkingsites can help the Governmentdeliver this part of its agenda.

Initiatives include being able to

make charitable donations directlyfrom cash machines or via mobilephones.

And, in terms of giving time byvolunteering, social net-working sites may providea new vehicle capable ofreaching new audiences.

When Big Society wasfirst publicised, critics soonemerged. Among them werethose who, rather than sug-gest the devil was in thedetail, worried more thatthere was not enoughdetail. The more surprising, then,that when he returned to his themeon Monday, Mr Cameron appeared a

little light on detail. For example,the statement on one official sitethat: “Government policies will alsobe tested for social value as well as

value for money.”Although this particular

plank of policy may needmore detail, others havebeen worked up to bepresented in what looks tobe a much more viable andcredible manner.

For example, this weekwe have been told that therewill be a £10m social action

fund to support measures to promotegiving and boost volunteering inpriority areas in England; prizes of

up to £100,000 for the best solutionsto “volunteer challenges”; a £30mfund to improve the effectiveness ofinfrastructure organisations whichsupport front-line volunteering; £1mto support the Youthnet volunteeringwebsite and £700,000 to support Phil-anthropy UK, which connectswealthy donors to charities.

We could believe there is plenty ofdetail there.

But whether or not it’s enough ofthe sort of detail required to re-ener-gise a previously criticised policyremains to be seen.

‘Initiativesincludedonationsthroughmobiles’

Women’sOrganisationexploresBostontradelinksLIVERPOOL female enter-prise agency The Women’sOrganisation linked up withsome of the leading femaleentrepreneurs in the US,including fashion designerDonna Karan, at a high-pro-file conference in Boston.

Chief executive MaggieO’Carroll attended the Sim-mons Leadership Conferencewhich discussed promotinggrowth of women’s busi-nesses through internat-ional trading.

It follows a recent trademission from Boston to Liv-erpool, inspired by thetakeover of Liverpool FC bythe Boston-based FenwaySports Group last October.

It is hoped the new linkscan boost trade between thetwo cities.

Ms O’Carroll said: “Theopportunities for Mersey-side and wider women’sbusiness owners to tradewith the US are immense.”

She added that initiativeslike the Golden SEED Angelinvestment programme,which involves a group of130 US female “angels”investing in women-led busi-nesses, could present excel-lent opportunities for femaleenterprises based in Mersey-side. Maggie O’Carroll, right, Prof Teresa Nelson (Simmons School of Management), left, and Donna Karan

[email protected]

■ MATT JOHNSON is chief executiveof Mando Group


Eurozonefearsbring instabilitytoglobalmarkets

The logistics of rThesuperportplanscansuperchargetheeconomyinthenextdecade.AlexTurner reports

A panel discussed the superport plans – left to right, Steve O'Connor, of Stobart Ports; Gary Hodgson, of Peel Ports; Liverpool DGleeson; Peter Nears; of Peel Holdings; and The Mersey Partnership’s Mark Basnett

LDPbusiness .co.ukLDPbusiness .co.uk

THE superport concept is a simple one,says Steve O’Connor.

“It’s really about road, rail and thewater and air coming together,” he said.“We are blessed with a fabulous road net-work in the North West, then overlay thatwith the West Coast Main Line.

“We see the opportunity of all themodes of travel being connected sothere’s a cohesive plan, which gives acompetitive edge particularly when weare trying to attract retailers.”

Mr O’Connor was named the LiverpoolDaily Post’s business person of the yearin 2010 for his part in capitalising on thatopportunity.

As managing director of Stobart Ports,he is effectively responsible for the com-mercialisation of the Mersey MultimodalGateway (3MG) scheme in Widnes.

Its location alongside the West CoastMain Line and near to the M6, M62 andM56 motorways maximises the efficiencyof its distribution network.

That attracted Tesco to the site, and theretailer opened a 528,000 sq ft chilled dis-tribution facility last May which hascreated about 1,200 jobs.

“The retailers tend to cluster and whenone retailer comes in – when they see thewhole supply chain is robust and sus-tainable – they look to see how robust thedistribution links are,” he said.

The superport scheme brings together3MG, and the sub-region’s other keytransport assets, including the Port ofLiverpool, Manchester Ship Canal, thedeep-water post-Panamax in-river ter-minal and Liverpool John Lennon Air-port (JLA).

An action plan published earlier thisyear highlighted the economic impact the£1.8bn Superport developments are expec-ted to have.

Analysts Amion Consulting have fore-cast the potential for more than 21,000new jobs and an additional £6.1bn GVA –gross value added, a measure of economicoutput – by 2020, then nearly 30,000 jobsand another £18.3bn of GVA by 2030.

“There’s a lot that makes it super,” saidMark Basnett, director of investment atThe Mersey Partnership (TMP). “A lot ofthat is the potential it has to drive theeconomy.

“The port has been central to drivingthe wealth of the city and city region formany years.

“It has not punched its weightover the last 20 years in terms ofit being the huge driver it couldbe.

“Put together with road andrail and the knowledge sectorstogether, it can make a very bigdifference to the economy overthe next 10-15 years.”

Peter Nears, strategic plan-ning director at Peel Holdings –which owns the Port of Liverpool andManchester Ship Canal, as well as havinga minority stake in JLA – disagreed withMr Basnett’s underwhelming assessmentof the port’s success.

He said: “We are getting better. We arepunching our weight, but when I workedon the Ship Canal we were often com-peting with the Port of Liverpool.

“The Ship Canal was built by thetraders of Manchester to bypass Liver-

pool and they were competitors for manyyears.

“Peel buying the Port of Liverpool hasbrought the two together.

“We can now synergise them. Thatenables us now to hopefully punch our

weight.”Although tonnage through

the Port last year, of 30m tonnes,was 11% below its 2005 peak,the Port’s preferred measure ofits position and progress is mar-ket share of unitised traffic,arguing that tonnage is an out-dated measurement.

In terms of market share, ithas shown five years of growth,

climbing steadily from 4.51% of UK tradein 2005 to 5.25% last year.

Gary Hodgson, managing director ofPeel Ports, said: “Trade is not slow. Webeat the market last year by about 5-6%.

“In the context of superport, we have tolook at it as an integrated strategy.

“But I want to put into contextsomething about the superport. If a portjust sees itself as a point of entry, it haslost the plot.

“We have huge opportunity in terms of

logistics facilities but the key is beingpart of a supply chain.”

The next stage in the superport’s devel-opment is the planned post-Panamax ter-minal at Seaforth.

That will enable the port to handle thelargest vessels – dubbed post-Panamaxbecause they will only be able to navigatethe Panama Canal when it is widened,which is due to be completed by 2014.

The investment – “it will be north of£200m”, said Mr Nears – will be one of theNorth West’s biggest capital projects, andaims to make Liverpool the first port ofchoice for northern Britain and Ireland.

The in-river double berth will be ableto handle container ships carrying up to13,000 teu (20ft equivalent units).

“It offers the ability to make a stepchange,” Mr Nears said.

“Looking back to the history of Liv-erpool, Jesse Hartley in 1844 opened fivedocks in one go. Gladstone Dock was builtin 1927, it had the ability to cater for anyship afloat and was future-proof, that wasa step change.

“Then containerisation in Seaforth inthe 1960s was another step change.”

He acknowledged that “it is going to be

PRESIDENT Obama’s tripto Europe could hardlyhave suffered fromworse timing.

Not only is Iceland’sGrimsvotn volcano spew-ing tonnes of ash intoEurope’s airspace, caus-ing the President to res-chedule his itinerary forfear of being trapped forweeks in Ireland, butthere are also mountingprotests in the Continentagainst public sectorspending cuts and risingunemployment. At thesame time, fears thatGreece, Italy and Spainwill be unable to re-paytheir sovereign debtswithout an expensivebail-out sent markets inEurope and North Amer-ica tumbling earlier thisweek.

None of this will, ofcourse, come as a sur-prise to those who haveobserved the behaviourof many Eurozonenations since the eurowas created. Italy, in par-ticular, has consistentlystretched its budgets towell beyond the interna-tionally agreed limits.

It is impossible tocountenance default byany European nation,never mind the relativelybig ones like Spain andItaly. Default would costthe world’s banks, includ-ing those here in London,a fortune. It would shootto pieces the recentrecapitalisation of ourfinancial institutions. Wewould have a creditcrunch all over again,making the situationinfinitely more arduousthan it is now.

In reality, there is onlyone solution. This willhave to take the form of acombination of deeperspending cuts by the gov-ernments of the strug-gling nations and Ger-man largesse. It won’t godown well in Berlin,Frankfurt or Munich, butnot to contribute gener-ously to restructure thedebts of strugglingnations would cause theeurozone project toimplode, causing severalyears of recession to fol-low.

Britain appears to havegot lucky and escapedlightly from this crisis

because we did not jointhe euro. Nobody couldhave foreseen the scale ofthe problem as it hasemerged today, but manycertainly did predict thatwe would run the risk ofhaving to bail out weakercountries if we joined thesingle currency.

If Europe thinks it hasproblems, however, Pres-ident Obama may be ableto say a word or two toset the financial troubleshere into context againstthe issues he’s got backin the US.

American politiciansare debating whether ornot to extend US nationaldebt from $14trillion to$16trillion by 2012. Thedeal has to be clinched byAugust, but both Repub-lican and Democrat sen-ators are digging in theirheels along dogmaticlines and refusing toreach a consensus. TheRepublicans are refusingto permit tax increaseswhile the Democratswon’t countenance cutsto the nation’s healthcarebudgets.

Unless a deal is doneand a Federal budgetagreed, the US govern-ment will default on itsrepayment terms,something that wouldthrow the world’s eco-nomy into chaos.

MARKS & SPENCER is abarometer for the healthof Britain’s high street.

So what can we readinto yesterday’s tradingfigures from the com-pany?

On the face of it, theresults were quite good.Annual pre-tax profit wasup 13% to £714m, beatingforecasts.

M&S, however,remains cautious aboutthe outlook for the highstreet. That chimes withvarious warnings inrecent days from the Brit-ish Retail Consortiumand Ernst & Young’sITEM club that the UK’sretail trade will remainslow for the foreseeablefuture.

M&S is showing con-fidence in the future byannouncing a major re-fitplan for its stores, whichit hopes will restore itsformer profitability.

BillGleeson

‘Porthasbeencentral todrivingwealth’


The logistics of region’s growth

Superport plans can boostbusinesses in all sectors

, of Stobart Ports; Gary Hodgson, of Peel Ports; Liverpool Daily Post business editor Billasnett Picture: COLIN LANE/ tmcl180511debate-1

Road, rail, air and sea all present options for moving goodsaround the region

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a push to be ready and open” by the timethe Panama Canal widening is completed,but that Peel remains committed to mak-ing the development happen.

It is in talks with users and financiersto deliver the terminal.

Mr Nears added: “We havealways delivered before. Peoplesaid the same about John Len-non Airport and Media City. Butwe can’t do everything at onceand we have to go with the eco-nomic cycles and we are com-mitted to deliver it.”

Mr Hodgson outlined the scaleof the opportunity that exists forthe Port of Liverpool, and thesub-region’s other logistics operators.

“Slightly over 50% of containers end upin our hinterland, but only 6% of thatcomes through Liverpool,” he said.

“The containers need to get here. Wedon’t have the facilities because of thelocks. It’s not about creating the demand,the demand is there.

“There’ll be seven calls per berth andtwo berths – that’s 14 calls a week.

“That will take us up to 2m TEUs cap-ability.”

He believes the uplift would see Liv-erpool move towards Felixstowe, whichcurrently has 10% of the market, andLondon, with 7%.

Although the label of superport morecommonly refers to the global hubs of

trade, like Dubai or Singapore,TMP’s Mr Basnett argues thatthe difference is one of quantity,not quality.

“The principle is the same,”he said. “It’s being a superportfor the UK. We are not of thescale of Dubai or Singapore, butwe have expertise that is sim-ilar.

“The potential within theport and 3MG and other projects that arelooking to come forward, we can increasea huge amount.

“It’s not just about the port improving,it’s also facilities. It’s about attractingretailers, manufacturers, to use the infra-structure that’s here.

“That’s why it’s an integrated process,so all of that infrastructure workstogether.”■ TO VIEW the LDP Business debateonline, log onto www.ldpbusiness.co.uk

THE Mersey Partnership (TMP) iskeen to make sure that busi-nesses in all sectors considerthe potential benefits frombeing involved with the super-port developments.

Mark Basnett, TMP’s directorof investment, said: “Whetherit is the post-Panamax terminalor the expansion of 3MG – theywill need professionals, theyneed construction.

“We are already seeing it tosome extent. Businesses thatare here will look to take morespace, and those that aren’there will look to come herewhen their leases are up.

“We need the demand andwe are looking at being prettyfull in terms of large, goodquality distribution space.”

This week, Stobart hasannounced it has submitted itsmasterplan for the remaining1.4m sq ft of land at 3MG toHalton Council.

Analysts Amion Consultingassessed the impact on GVA –gross value added, a measureof economic output – of theexpansion of 3MG being worth£1.3bn by 2020.

It is the most well-progressed

element of the superport plan,but could be quickly joined byother elements.

The post-Panamax facility ispencilled in for completion in2014 – although that remainsan ambition rather than aschedule – but could generate£1.3bn GVA and create morethan 4,000 jobs.

The long-awaited secondbridge across the River Mersey,the Mersey Gateway, is expec-ted to be opened in 2015 and isearmarked to deliver GVAgrowth of £450m by 2020.

Peel’s plans to develop keylogistics sites along theManchester Ship Canal – prin-cipally Port Warrington andPort Salford – is forecast tobring 1,700 jobs and £430mGVA, while Stobart’s PortWeston plans, at Runcorn, couldbring 1,400 jobs and £450mGVA.

Two long-term elements ofthe plan could also boost thesub-region’s economy – 20-yearexpansion plans at LiverpoolJohn Lennon Airport and localauthorities bringing forwardprime distribution sites andpremises.

‘Itofferstheabilitytomakeastepchange’

privatebusiness

SPECIALIST chemicalsfirm Azelis UK gotback on its stronggrowth track last year,with profits alsoincreasing.

The Runcorn-baseddistributor increasedsales by 11% to £76.9min 2010 – an increase ofmore than £30m in thelast four years.

Pre-tax profitsreached £2.9m, an 18%annual rise and animprovement from abreak-even position in2007.

Azelis introducedenterprise resourceplanning systems toimprove efficiency andduring 2010 increasedits gross margin from10.8% to 13.2%.

In accounts filed atCompanies House, thedirectors looked for-ward to continuedimprovements.

It said: “The strategyof the company is tocontinue to pursue fur-ther growth in the coresectors in which theAzelis group of com-panies is present.

“This includes seek-ing further growth inthe UK in markets suchas coatings and poly-mers, plastics addit-ives, animal feed andchemical industries.”

No dividends werepaid during the finan-cial year, resulting inan increase in share-holders’ funds ofnearly £2m, to £4.57m.

However, interestpayments of £476,000were made to groupcompanies, in additionto £819,000 on bankfacilities.

Amounts owing togroup companies stoodat a net total of £5.8mat the year, up from£4.9m a year earlier.

Azelis UK is part of aEuropean group,Azelis, which distrib-utes speciality chemic-als, polymers andrelated services.

It rebranded its UKoperation, which waspreviously known asChance & Hunt, at thestart of this year.

The Luxem-bourg-based parentcompany bought theRuncorn operation in2002. Chance and Huntwas originally estab-lished as a chemicalcompany in 1835.

ALEX TURNER

Efficiencycatalystfor firm’sgrowth


Gold rushexpected toboost profitsPAWNBROKERAlbemarle & Bondsaid full-year resultswill be at the top endof analyst expectat-ions as its pledgebook stood at £37mon April 30 – up from£36m, at the end of2010.

The company,which operates morethan 140 stores in theUK, said gold buyingcontinued to contrib-ute significantly andthe gross marginlevels reported at thehalf year have beensustained.

Home run forHomeserveEMERGENCY repairand insurance groupHomeserve posted a16% rise in underlyingpre-tax profits in theyear to March 31.

The West Mid-lands-based companysaid the strong resultscame as it increasedits customer base by14% to 14.9m.

Lending upSPECIALIST buy-to-letmortgage lender Par-agon Group saidpre-tax profitsincreased by 34.8% to£39.5m in the sixmonths to March 31.

The Solihull-basedfirm said new lendinghad progressed wellas it advanced £50.2min loans.

Oil takeoverBRITISH firm TullowOil has acquired Dutchfirm Nuon Explorationand Production for£262.1m from its par-ent the Vattenfall.

Nuon has 30gas-producing fieldsin the North Sea,which Tullow will takeover, boosting itsNorth Sea productionby 9,000 barrels perday to around 23,000barrels.

briefing Creditwhereit’sdueforstrugglingsoletraders

Jenny Kirk – set up with the support of Partners Credit UnionPicture: JAMES MALONEY/ jm230511ldpbiz-1

Enterprise Credit Union chief Karen Bennett oversees assets of £4.7m on behalf of 8,000 membersPicture: ANDREW TEEBAY/ at190511acredit-1

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THE Project Merlin shortfall in banklending to small firms will have comeas no surprise to many sole traders.

But one source of finance, whichsprang from the friendly societies ofthe 18th century, is growing in pop-ularity and could expand even furtherif a proposed change to legislationoccurs later this year.

Credit unions are not-for-profitcooperative financial institutionsowned and controlled by their mem-bers to promote thrift, provide creditat competitive rates and other finan-cial services to members.

Surplus funds are shared betweensavers, which means loan interest canbe kept low.

Many exist to further the develop-ment of the communities they arebased in.

They grew in popularity in 1979when the Credit Unions Act waspassed.

Current legislation limits them tooperate a single member system.

But this is ideal for the “one-manband” or business that faces dauntinglending criteria from the big banksunwilling to take a risk on a small,unproven venture.

Restrictions and hurdles facingsmall businesses that, ironically,weren’t in evidence before the 2008credit crunch, have seen an increase insole business owners turning to creditunions for support.

Tracey Fletcher, chief executive ofLiverpool-based Partners CreditUnion, said: “There has been anincrease, and this area is growing,slowly but surely.

“We’re finding more and morepeople who ordinarily wouldn’t go to acredit union are coming to us for help.

“They complain about their treat-ment from the banks or the fact theywouldn’t go to a bank for fear ofrefusal.”

She said having that “light bulbmoment” and coming up with a busi-ness idea is the easy part for entre-preneurs: “What is really hard is get-ting the investment to enable you tostart or expand your business,because, even with the greatest idea inthe world, you always have to wait toget a return and generally have toinvest start-up capital.

“Banks don’t necessarily want tohelp because you can’t demonstratesuccess, whereas the credit unionlistens, understands and they don’tnaturally adopt the cold commercethat is performed by banks.”

Individual members who DaleStreet-based Partners – which also hasoffices in St Helens and Bootle – havehelped realise their business dreamsinclude young women finishing beautycollege training and keen to start up amobile business, to the self-employedwho need new vehicles or equipmentto further their venture.

One grateful recipient was JennyKirk, who set up her venture, Cross-wood Consultancy, in April, 2010.

Ms Kirk, from Melling, said:“Although I was working in a job Iloved, I knew I could do more.”

She provides bespoke training suchas business development, strategic

planning, project management andmarketing: “We also address inform-ation technology migration issues thatcompanies face when acquisitions andmergers take place.”

Ms Kirk needed £20,000 for equip-ment and said: “I knew the creditunion was a viable option for me andthey would lend me the money.

“As well as this, I knew both mysavings and loan were insured forfree.”

Last November, she was offered anine-month contract with Lloyds TSB:“Ironically, this was the first bank thatturned me down for a loan.”

Even at this early stage, she alreadyemploys two part-time staff.

Enterprise Credit Union has also

noted a rise in enquiries from soletraders at its Huyton headquartersand its three satellites in Prescot, PageMoss and Dovecot.

Chief executive Karen Bennett saidmembers they have helped includemobile hairdressers, mobile DJs, abeauty salon, a cafe, and taxi drivers.

“A lot of taxi drivers contact us forloans for their annual insurance andMoT costs on their cabs.”

Lending rates are extremely compet-itive. For example, a £1,000 loan over 12months would attract interest of just£63, which falls as the loan reduces.

And while credit unions may notrival someone like Santander as, itclaims, the small business bank ofchoice, many sole traders do bank with

them. Ms Bennett said: “A lot of self-employed people save with us. Theysee us as a community bank becausethe money is kept in the community.”

Enterprise was set up in 1988 and by1998 had 500 members and assets of£47,000.

Today, it boasts more than 8,000members and assets of £4.7m.

But Ms Bennett said the impendinglaw change will allow them to extendtheir support even further.

Credit unions can only deal withindividual members.

But a Legislative Reform Order cur-rently making its way through Par-liament would allow them to extendmembership to small organisationssuch as businesses, community groupsand social enterprises, if enacted.

The proposals include some limit-ations, such as a 10% ceiling on themembership of corporate clients, a25% limit on the amount of shares cor-porate members can hold in a creditunion, and a 10% limit on loans tocorporate members compared withtotal loans to all members.

Another benefit could be a signific-ant reduction in the influence of doorstep lenders and loan sharks.

Partners Credit Union chief execut-ive Tracey Fletcher said: “We feel thechanges due and the services we willbe able to offer will be of great benefitand go a long way to assist businesses,especially given today’s economy andthe difficulties people still have lend-ing from banks.”

[email protected]

BUSINESSto BUSINESS

Building Trade

FRAMELINECOMPOSITE DOORSTRADE, UPVC WINDOWS

DOORS, CONSERVATORIES.

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M&Sprofitssoardespite‘challenging’conditions

Marks & Spencer has seen both profits and market share grow

De La Ruewarns ofjob lossesBANKNOTE printer DeLa Rue warned of jobcuts across the companyafter underlying profitsdropped by nearly 70%to £33.3m.

The firm, whichprints notes for theBank of England and150 other countries,added that a problembanknote contract thatcaused much of theprofits shortfallremains on hold.

It suspended produc-tion on the contract,rumoured to be with theReserve Bank of India,last July after it claimedsome employees falsi-fied paper specificationtest certificates for thecontract.

The firm, whichemploys 4,000 people,took a £29m charge inthe last financial yearfor the contract, butadded that, as talks arestill ongoing with thecustomer and other rel-evant authorities, itcannot yet assess thefull financial impact.

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news

MARKS & Spencer revealed a surge inannual profits yesterday, after win-ning market share in the face of “chal-lenging” high street conditions.

The chain, which runs 600 stores inthe UK and 300 overseas, posted a12.9% increase in underlying pre-taxprofits of £714m in the year to April 2.

M&S, which sees around 21m cus-tomers pass through its doors everyweek, said industry figures showed itboosted its clothing market share inthe year by 0.5% to 11.7% and foodmarket share by 1% to 3.9%.

Helped by an advertising campaignfeaturing X-Factor judge Dannii Min-ogue and former footballer Jamie Red-knapp, the retailer has put in a resilientperformance over the year, despite toughtrading conditions which have squeez-ed many other high street operators.

The results are the first delivered bychief executive Marc Bolland, whotook up the role a year ago after leav-ing supermarket Morrisons.

The Dutchman unveiled a strategic

review for the business in November,which involved increasing the rate ofoverseas expansion, making cost sav-ings in its supply chain and a revampof its various labels to create “properbrands”.

Delivering the results, Mr Bollandsaid: “We traded well in a challengingenvironment, growing our marketshare in both clothing and food.

“We did this by offering customersgreat quality and value, and morechoice through innovation.”

The group said it had a good start tothe new financial year, but warnedthat rising pressure on customers’spending power and soaring costs ofraw materials would present chal-lenges in the months ahead.

M&S said it was able to drive mar-ket share growth by offering custom-ers more choice and appealing to a“desire to trade up”.

The company said sales of its “bet-ter” and “best” ranges, such ascashmere knitwear and its Autographbrand, were strong. The group addedthat a range of “innovative” productswere also driving sales.■ BILL GLEESON: Page 8

For more information contactSouth Sefton Development Trustwww.ssdtrust.co.uk

THEINVESTMENTCENTRE

Special rates on office suitesfrom 780 sq ft to 2,500 sq ft

Now from £9 per sq ft withfree parking spaces

Serviced offices in thei-space - starter units from£30 per week inclusive ofrates and service charge

Meeting and conferencefacilities also available

Grade A officeaccommodationin the heart ofBootle

Call us on:

0151-934 2637for more information

Move into SouthSefton’s premieroffice buildingfor less

The landmark office buildingon Stanley Road offers 26,000sq ft of flexible businessaccommodation, as well asmixed-use areas and a cafe onthe ground floor which is dueto open in late 2011. There isalso parking for 48 vehicles.

A key feature of the five-storeydevelopment is the i-spaceincubator centre, officiallyopened by the Duke of Kent inlate 2009.

The i-space provides managedoffice space for up to 18 start-upbusinesses on easy-in, easy-outterms. Tenants also benefit froma free computer and broadbandas part of the package, aswell as onsite business adviceand support from socialenterprise specialists SouthSefton Development Trust, themanagers of the centre.

The building is also increasinglyin demand from externalorganisations for meeting,seminar and conference use.

The Investment Centre - whichfeatures a transparent facadeand a colonnaded walkway -has some impressive ‘green’credentials.

It is heated by geothermalenergy, a natural ventilationsystem has removed the needfor air conditioning and recycledrain water is used in the toilets.

Tenants of the building includeSefton Council’s EconomicRegeneration Department,

Arvato, Sefton New Directionsand two state-of-the-art dentalsurgeries on the ground floor.

Over time, the InvestmentCentre will also benefit the localcommunity. When the buildingwas created with funding fromSefton Council, it was agreedthat any surplus rental incomewill be reinvested in futureregeneration projects in thearea.

Special negotiable and flexiblerates are now being offeredon the remaining space in theInvestment Centre. Office suitesfrom 780 sq ft to 2,500 sq ft areavailable at £9 sq ft, with freeparking spaces.

Units in the i-space incubatorcentre - open plan workstationsand one and two-person offices- are available from £30 perweek, inclusive of rates andservice charge.

For more information contactSouth Sefton DevelopmentTrust on 0151-934 2637.

Final space availablein landmark buildingThe Investment Centre in the heart of Bootle town centreis south Sefton’s most prestigious business address.

Advertising Feature


by Ian Steele, director at GVA

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location

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byTonyMcDonoughLDPDEPUTYBUSINESSEDITORtony.mcdonough@liverpool.com

Landlordsneedtorefurbisholderbuildings toattractoccupiers

DURING the course of the past five to10 years, there has been a migrationof occupiers relocating from the trad-itional core to newer, better-qualitybuildings with large floorplates loc-

ated in the northern end of the city,thus creating a new central businessdistrict (CBD).

With the exception of Prince’sDock, much of the new developmentand speculative grade A refurbish-ment schemes have been focused inand around the Old Hall Street area.

There has been a steady stream ofoccupiers who have vacated build-ings in the traditional core to relo-cate to newer, more efficient build-ings, leaving behind listed buildingswhich have not been refurbished andare difficult to adapt.

These occupiers have included HillDickinson, DWF, Allied Irish Bank,RBS, The UK Passport Agency andLloyds Banking Group.

Castle Street, which was once theprime business address in the city,has now effectively become the phys-ical link between the newCBD and the retail core.

The next wave of refur-bishment schemes shouldbe focused on refurbishingand adapting those build-ings that have recentlybeen vacated and that havelarge voids such as IndiaBuildings and QueensBuildings, in an attempt totry to encourage occupiersto consider buildings in the tradit-ional core.

While these types of refurbish-ment schemes may be difficult to fin-

ance in the short term, it will also beimportant to provide occupiers witha range of different accommodation.

Some of the biggest chal-lenges landlords face to pro-mote the refurbishment ofthese buildings is not onlythe availability of fundingbut the cost of adaptingthese buildings to meetmodern standards and thelack of rental growth.

There has also been adecrease in demand, whichis partially down to a num-

ber of occupiers actually re-gearingor renegotiating their leases.

So it has become difficult to priseoccupiers away from their existing

buildings, especially given the com-petitive terms that are on offer fromexisting landlords. This lack ofdemand, coupled with the other chal-lengers mentioned previously, hasresulted in the majority of landlordsadopting a cautious approach tospeculative refurbishment.

If these buildings are not refur-bished, it is likely that occupiers oflarger space will become morefootloose due to the lack of availab-ility of good quality refurbishedproduct within the traditional core.

This may result in the continuedmigration to the new CBD, but willalso see a greater divide in terms ofbuilding quality between the newand the traditional CBD.

CBREwinsdealforL1scheme

Compton House is one of two properties with office space

DTZsecureslettingatRuncornsite

‘Greaterqualitydividebetweenthetwo’

COMMERCIAL property advisorsCB Richard Ellis have won afive-way competitive pitch tobecome joint agents for refur-bished office space in the Liver-pool One scheme.

Owner Grosvenor is marketinga total of 17,693 sq ft of spaceacross two buildings – ComptonHouse and Russell Building.

Suites available range from2,200 sq ft and 3,200 sq ft.

Agents from the Liverpooloffice of CBRE will join KeppieMassie joint letting agents.

Compton House is an 1870sfive-storey former warehouse,while the six-storey Russell Build-ing was built in the 1860s.

Newly-refurbished, both build-ings provide “attractive, contem-porary” office space.

Mark Worthington, director ofoffice agency at CBRE, said: “Weare delighted that Grosvenor hasappointed CB Richard Ellis towork with their existing agents,Keppie Massie, in leasing theremaining office accommodationat Liverpool One.

“Liverpool One is the mostimportant development in the cityfor a generation, providing a high-quality mix of retail, leisure, res-idential and office environments.

“We are anticipating good inter-est in the space, particularly fromthe indigenous creative industries,which are an increasingly import-ant economic driver for the city.”

Miles Dunnett, head of assetmanagement, Grosvenor Liver-pool Fund, added: “I am pleased towelcome CBRE to the team taskedwith letting our new office space,alongside Keppie Massie. Thesuites available are in two prest-igious historic buildings.”

PROPERTY giant DTZ hassecured the first letting atAstmoor Industrial Estate,in Runcorn.

Tarmac has taken units19 and 20 on the Brindley

Road for a period of fiveyears and at a rent of £3.50per sq ft, to service a con-tract with Halton Council.

The letting follows the imp-lementation of an asset man-

agement strategy on site, in-cluding the refurbishmentof units allied to offering flex-ible leasing arrangements.

This also involved DTZ’sbuilding consultancy and

property managementdepartments, who oversawthe refurbishment of theunits, as well as substan-tial improvements to theestate and its landscaping.

Industrial PropertyUNITS TO LET Bootle Area5,000−15,000 sqft. Flexibleterms 0151 486 0004

Commercial Premises

Savills [email protected] 269000savills.co.uk/leisure

Extensive golf course in accessible locationCheshireChester 2.5 miles, M56/M53 Interchange 5.5 miles• 18 hole, 6,611 yard, par 73 golf course• 900 sq m (9,687 sq ft) GEA clubhouse with extensive

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KNOWSLEY OFFICES TOLET From 800 to 9,500 sq ft.Deacon Park, Moorgate Road,L33, flexible terms, contact Ed-ward Symmons 0151 2368454

BUSINESS to BUSINESS

Thisspacecould beworkingfor you.For details telephone

0151 227 2000

DAILY POST


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byTonyMcDonoughLDPDEPUTYBUSINESSEDITORtony.mcdonough@liverpool.com

Maghullappointsagents toschemeMAGHULL Develop-ments has instructedKnight Frank to jointlymarket Switch House,an office scheme atSwitch Island, in northLiverpool.

The scheme is situ-ated at the end of theM57 and M58 motor-ways, eight miles northof Liverpool and offersfrontage onto Dun-ningsbridge Road.

The two-storey officescheme has space avail-able from 1,000 sq ft to6,794 sq ft and is hometo occupiers includingMaghull Developments,Merseycare NHS Trust,Mee’s Developmentsand Saving Faces.

John Brown, sur-veyor, Knight Frank’sLiverpool office, said:“Switch House providesoccupiers with largeopen-plan floor plates,which can be sub-divided to accommod-ate specific workspacerequirements.”

RICSsaysfirmsatriskduetopoorpropertychoices

THE Royal Institution of CharteredSurveyors (RICS) in the North Westsays too many small firms andstart-ups are not doing enoughresearch before signing up for com-mercial premises.

RICS says many are making badchoices and end up paying for spacethat is not needed or a building not fitfor purpose, both of which will provedetrimental in the long term.

The leading organisation respons-ible for setting the standards in land,property and construction, is advisingbusinesses to approach the propertysearch in a logical and organised wayto avoid overlooking any key pointswhich may hinder it at a later stage.

Regional RICS spokeman, SteveGillingham, said: “So many busi-nesses don’t do enough research whenit comes to finding the right premisesto operate from, and this is one of themost common reasons they run in toproblems.

“It is essential that existing com-panies and start-ups consider their

business strategy when choosingpremises, for example, the number ofpeople they employ and the processesused in their business, as well as anyplant or machinery required.

“They must also consider ongoingand future plans, such as additionalspace needed to expand.

“The quality and size of the actualworkspace environment needs to bethought about thoroughly, and howthis may impact on the staff and theirproductivity.”

RICS recommends firms prepare aspecification of the premises theywant by sketching out a plan on graphpaper, detailing requirements includ-ing facilities such as car parking andkitchen/utility areas.

This will enable a business to get arough idea of the size and floor areaneeded. Mr Gillingham added: “It’simportant to check the chosen build-ing’s state of repair, too.

“The chosen property must haveplanning permission for commercialuse, and it’s essential to check thatthere are no restrictions to runningthe business from the building – forexample, a limitation on workinghours or noise emissions.”

Regional RICS spokesman, Steve Gillingham – businesses don’t doenough research

Self-contained offices2,500 – 10,100 sq ft

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LondonStockMarketatClose

Last night, the pound was worth: $1.6185 (up 0.0083)....... 1.1475 euros (down 0.0011) .......125.26 yen (down 0.43) ....... Its trade weighted index was 79.90 (unchanged)Metals in $ per troy ounce: Gold 1527.00 (up 16.50)......................... Silver 35.85 (up 1.15)......................... Platinum 1759 (up 9)......................... UK base lending rate 0.5%0.

Keep track of all the major share moves of the day with our live FTSE ticker at www.ldpbusiness.co.ukLDPbusiness .co.ukLDPbusiness .co.uk

96 39 Adv Medical 7934 xd +14 -212

1912 334 AEA Technology 414

28712 241 Albany Inv Tst 27712 -412

1251 782 AMEC 1162 +16 +11

92 2012 Anglesey Mining 57 -14 +314

35714 22934 Balfour Beatty 31734 xd +14 -578

3912 29 Beale 37 +12

594 501 Compass Gp 574 -1 -5

1258 478 Coral Prod 1114 +14

121212 89712 Dee Valley 1210 -212 +1712

479 32214 easyJet 345 -18 -734

96412 683 JD Sports Fashion 905 xd +15 +55

20212 1112 JJB Sports 2614 +12 -212

3512 1534 Johnson Serv 3312 xd -18

53912 370 Nichols 53714 +3 +612

12112 8312 NWF 115 +112

44 1934 Park Gp 41 -12 +14

1257 76212 Rathbone 1164 +10 -36

139 9712 Redrow 12434 +234 +314

14312 115 RSA Insurance 13418 xd -158 -138

34 1914 Speedy Hire 3214 -112 -12

4634 3534 Sportech 41 -12 -314

42 2514 Telme Gp 4012 +14 -38

5514 3234 UK Coal 39 +1 +34

2 78 Ultima 138 -18

2000 1688 Unilever 1945 xd -3 -18

63112 520 Utd Utils 61412 +112 -212

UNIT TRUSTS

DAILY POST REGIONAL INDEX 1216.47 up 4.87 ▲ 0.40%

In order to give a greater range of Unit Trustinformation, covering a larger number of trusts, thelist of funds changes each day as follows:UNIT TRUST MANAGERS DAYS PUBLISHEDA to Com ................................................... TuesdayF to Inv....................................................WednesdayJP to Pru...................................................ThursdayRoy to T.........................................................Friday

FUNDS

Consols

£90932 £761132 Cons 4%.................£7734

£582732 £50 Cons 212% ..............£5114

Conversions

£8134 £69 Cnv 312%.................£7212

£1091132 £10118 Cnv 9% 11 ............£10118 -132

Treasury

£61 £50 Tr 212%................. £553132

£11734 £10858 Tr 9% 12................£10858

£107932 £1031332 Tr 5% 12............. £1031332 -132

£121516 £1152532 Tr 8% 13................£11614 -116

£114332 £109532 Tr 5% 14............. £1102532 -116

£1112932 £105732 Tr 734% 12-15........£10614

£32718 £30414 Tr 212% IL 16 .........£32718 +1332

£142316 £1322132 Tr 834% 17.......... £1352332 -2332

£147132 £1332732 Tr 8% 21............. £1392332 -38

War

£8334 £6712 War Ln 312%............£7312 -31116

High Low Price Var 5Day High Low Price Var 5Day High Low Price Var 5Day Country Currency Tourist Buy Sell

FTSE 100 INDEX

SPOTLIGHT

KEYs............ dealing suspendedxd.............price ex-dividendxs......... price ex-scrip issuexr ........ price ex-rights issuexc ..... ex-capital distributionxa................................ ex-all£......price value in £ sterling

Those securities which haveincreased in value since the previ-ous close are shown in bold type.

To assist in the analysis of themarket two figures are given foreach sector. Firstly an index (setat 100 on January 1 1992) togive a comparison in the perfor-mance of various market sectors.Secondly an indication of the per-centage change in the price of allthe securities within a sector sincethe previous close.

Nov 24, 2010 May 24, 2011MARKS & SPENCER

Share price (pence)

300

335

370

405

440FTSE-Rebased

£ ABROAD

Australia dollars 1.45 1.531 1.536

Canada dollars 1.50 1.582 1.584

Denmark krone 8.12 8.552 8.562

European Union euro 1.09 1.147 1.148

Japan yen 125.26 132.890 132.990

New Zealand dollars 1.88 2.027 2.033

Norway krone 8.57 9.000 9.001

Poland zlotys 3.97 4.528 4.537

Sweden krona 9.76 10.249 10.259

Switzerland francs 1.35 1.424 1.425

Turkey new lira 2.45 2.584 2.594

United States dollars 1.54 1.618 1.619

Cancel Bid Offer Yield

Fund Terms Price Price Gross

FIDELITY INVESTMENT SERVS

Amer Spec Sits - 607.70 -

American - 1808.00 0.32

Gwth & Inc - 319.70 1.70

Income Plus - 203.50 4.28

Japan - 219.30 0.53

Jpan Spec Sits - 127.10 0.10

Spec Sits - 1964.00 0.01

Sth East Asia - 746.30 0.01

GARTMORE FUND MANAGERS

Euro Sel Opps - 896.91 1.14

Income - 213.20 3.60

Pratical Inv -160.45 171.58 4.31

GUARDIAN

Index-Linked Acc -505.01 531.59 -

International Acc -1024.32 1078.23 -

Pacific Acc -254.35 267.74 -

Property Bonds -2001.18 2084.44 -

HSBC INVESTMENT FUNDS (UK)

Balanced - 105.90 1.00

British -265.60 265.60 3.10

Gilt & FI - 63.78 3.40

Gilt & Fixed -223.70 223.70 3.09

Monthly Inc - 131.60 3.74

HENDERSON HORIZON FUND

European Smllr Cos A - 1037.40 -

Sterling Bd Unit Tst - 54.32 56.75 4.50

UK Equity Inc A - 450.80 2.83

HILL SAMUEL UNIT TST MGRS

Capital -311.25 323.71 1.10

European - 806.10 0.70

Far East - 556.10 1.80

Inc & Gwth - 205.90 3.30

International - 421.80 0.40

North Amer Acc - 469.50 0.10

INVESCO FUND MANAGERS

Sing ASEAN - 213.35 0.39

High Low Funds Price Var

Closing Indices

FT-SE 100 INDEX 5858.41up 22.52 ▲ 0.39%

20 DAY MOVINGAVERAGE 5967.85down 10.55 ▼ 0.18%

FT ALL-SHARE 3055.16up 12.50 ▲ 0.41%

Aerospace & Defence

Index 3358.76 ▲ 7.06

304 100 Avon Rbbr 304 +834

36978 29434 BAE Systems 32834xd -112

73612 51958 Chemring 669 +8

24758 19214 Cobham 227 xd +12

38078 26134 Meggitt 35778 +218

15912 11114 Senior 15114xd +114

Automobiles & Parts

Index 4895.91 ▲ 74.82

23718 10914 GKN 20938 +314

Banks

Index 4431.06 ▼ 30.46

344 25538 Barclays 26558xd -258

87512 610 Bco Santander 679 -38

73078 59614 HSBC 62312xd -314

7534 1738 Ireland 1712 +18

7758 4934 Lloyds Banking4934 -118

5218 3758 Ryl Scotland 4012 -12

1959 1525 Stan Chart 156612

Beverages

Index 9737.51 ▼ 10.41

1395 93012 Barr (AG) 1369xd

518 36412 Britvic 42834 -818

1301 1029 Diageo 1264 -2

2306 1827 SABMiller 221012 +12

Chemicals

Index 7501.82 ▲ 138.10

1962 93712 Croda 1905xd +26

16934 5834 Elementis 157 xd +118

2100 1460 Johnsn Mat 2008 +21

Construction & Materials

Index 3920.85 ▼ 9.82

35714 22934 Balfour Beatty 31734xd +14

265 190 Costain 23234xd +34

170558 102012 CRH 1321 +612

1418 88612 Kier Group 1317 -15

6312 2834 Low Bonar 5834 +14

12412 7834 Marshalls 11812 -1

Electricity

Index 8265.72 ▲ 75.51

46934 329 Drax Gp 45678 +714

44858 28412 Intl Power 32014 +314

1368 1011 Scot&Sthrn 1338 +11

Electronic & Electrical

Index 3182.62 ▲ 27.85

705 385 Domino Ptg 674 -6

179 9834 Laird 13814xd +258

333 17312 Morgn Cru 303 xd -2

774 256 Oxford Inst 735 +5

377 12812 Volex Gp 306

Equity Inv Instruments

Index 6050.30 ▲ 32.08

385 29312 Alliance 377 +12

14012 105 Br Assets 13558 +158

777 576 Candover Inv 58712 -1612

228 17118 Dunedin IncGth 219 xd +234

14214 10112 Dunedin Sml 14214 +58

49112 37214 Edin Invst 477 xd +358

66012 53012 Edin US Trkr Tst 642 xd +4

31712 25138 Forgn & C 31214 +14

32334 20812 Hend Smllr Cos 311 +1

37178 27314 Law Debenture37018 +534

252 18614 Scot Am 24512 +212

528 40978 Witan 509 +1

Fixed Line Telecoms

Index 2417.55 ▲ 21.79

20178 11978 BT Gp 19658 +134

6278 4438 Cble&W Comm 48 +58

92 4658 Cble&W Wwide 5218 +212

6534 4312 KCOM 6534 +134

Food & Drug Retailers

Index 4834.68 ▼ 0.38

30814 25734 Morrison W 300 xd +134

395 31534 Sainsbury 34218xd +458

44058 37712 Tesco 41314xd -158

112 6578 Thorntons 6714 +14

Food Producers

Index 5244.16 ▼ 13.82

1182 927 AB Foods 1067 -11

72312 47712 Carrs Mill 72212 +5

90712 735 Cranswick 797 +12

42478 33934 Dairy Crest 39818 -318

3518 16 Premier Foods 3278 -12

62812 40918 Tate Lyle 611 -12

2000 1688 Unilever 1945xd -3

Forestry & Paper

Index 6376.64 ▲ 43.08

61412 36758 Mondi 592 +4

General Financial

Index 5856.04 ▲ 15.49

340 25418 3i 28378 -2

88812 664 Close Bros 795 -5

57012 371 ICAP 46878 +334

933 544 London Stk Ex 908 +19

1033 72812 Provident 96412xd -1

1257 76212 Rathbone 1164 +10

1922 1154 Schroders 1612 +3

General Industrials

Index 3202.07 ▲ 26.41

72412 36738 Cooksn Gp 662 xd +4

1258 478 Coral Prod 1114

638 338 Cosalt 338 -18

398 29038 Rexam 37934xd +238

226 108 Smith DS 20718 +318

1429 1014 Smiths Gp 1221 +11

General Retailers

Index 1775.34 ▼ 6.94

2514 1214 Ashley L 1934 +34

31114 221 Brown (N) Gp 29334 +534

7738 53 Debenhams 7158 -38

2812 1134 Dixons Retail 1912 -38

550 34814 Halfords 39134 -114

252 18812 Home Retail 208 xd +34

414 23718 Inchcape 38334xd +334

96412 683 JD Sports 905 xd +15

285 19812 Kingfisher 27678xd -18

42712 32714 M & S 38558 -1138

62712 382 Mothercare 446 +4

2326 1868 Next 2248 -1

2885 1724 Signet Jwlrs 2610

523 39814 WH Smith 48238xd +38

Health Care Equip & Serv

Index 3780.89 ▲ 6.65

742 53712 Smith Nph 672 +1

Household Goods

Index 6539.39 ▼ 12.28

138 74 Aga Rngmstr 121 xd +5

119 70 Barratt Dev 11034 -14

75312 511 Bellway 728 xd +12

196 114 McBride 15334xd +114

3648 3015 Reckitt Benck 3378xd -10

139 9712 Redrow 12434 +234

4314 2214 Taylor Wimpey 3638 -18

Industrial Engineering

Index 7128.71 ▲ 28.28

39734 18212 Bodycote 37534 +112

85312 567 Charter 76412 +7

39178 18634 Fenner 387 +612

1112 62412 IMI 1007xd +14

108 4312 Molins 9312xd

230 115 MS Intl 21512

45 23 Renold 38 +114

2063 1346 Spirax Srco 1982 -10

1948 88412 Weir Gp 1843xd -2

Industrial Transportation

Index 2582.77 ▲ 3.41

24034 175 BBA Aviation 21738xd +14

Life Insurance

Index 4353.84 ▼ 21.50

47778 29978 Aviva 41912 -334

12334 7334 Lgl & Gen 11278xd -118

777 48914 Prudential 71412xd -7

31134 21114 Resolution 30938xd +514

24434 173 Standard Life 20714xd -114

Media

Index 4261.33 ▲ 3.96

849 552 BSkyB 84412 +412

59412 433 D Mail Tst 49112 +1

9312 4814 ITV 6818 -78

1171 864 Pearson 1131 -7

59012 46612 Reed Elsevier 549 -1

168 66 STV Group 13934 +34

12414 4534 Trinity Mirror 4634 +34

725 48334 Utd Business 59512 +112

151 106 UTV 12934 +134

84612 61412 WPP 745 -1

Mining

Index 24784.46 ▲ 441.01

3437 2254 Anglo Amer 287312 +43

1634 761 Antofagasta 1196xd +36

263112 168412 BHP Billiton 2345 +41

1682 843 Fresnillo 1356xd +54

1671 965 Kazakhmys 1235 +28

1983 1355 Lonmin 1494 +13

6655 4425 Randgold Res 4813xd +93

4712 288012 Rio Tinto 4115 +82

5514 3234 UK Coal 39 +1

Mobile Telecoms

Index 3877.93 ▼ 38.18

821 575 Inmarsat 60612xd +3

18234 133 Vodafone Gp 16934 -134

Nonlife Insurance

Index 1638.49 ▼ 10.24

1754 1238 Admiral Grp 1648xd -2

190112 127034 Marsh McL 184514 -5

14312 115 RSA Insurance 13418xd -158

Oil & Gas Producers

Index 8246.95 ▲ 107.49

1564121002 BG 137612xd +33

52034 30278 BP 45638xd +438

49314 366 Cairn Energy 43534 +1658

2336 1554 Ryl D Shell B 212012xd+2112

1493 99112 Tullow Oil 1305xd +9

Oil Equipment & Services

Index 25269.41 ▲ 191.66

1251 782 AMEC 1162 +16

Personal Goods

Index 21538.27 ▲ 175.04

1365 659 Burberry Gp 1342 +11

409 28914 PZ Cussons 33418 +578

Pharma & BiotechnologyIndex 9494.41 ▲ 21.34

3385 280112 AstraZeneca 312212 -112

1348121095 GlaxoSmthKln 131912xd +5

50 31 Vernalis 3734 -34

Real EstateIndex 1958.11

35314 28438 Big Yellow Gp 338 -638

60412 427 Brit Land 57112 -412

2919 2210 Daejan Hldgs 2784 +57

42734 28012 Gt Portland 41318 +234

79512 545 Land Secs 78212 +312

33114 25014 SEGRO 31218 -1

Software & Comp ServsIndex 737.83 ▲ 0.04

1975 1271 Autonomy 1793 +5

6112 3012 Emblaze 52 -34

36414 23014 Invensys 29318 -218

12612 85 Kewill 99 +1

14714 10134 Logica 138 -58

302 22234 Sage 28214xd -112

Support ServicesIndex 4557.23 ▲ 48.05

1912 334 AEA Tech 414

1811 1207 Aggreko 1769 +57

20778 77 Ashtead Gp 17714 +338

51912 36014 Berendsen 48512 +1

783 658 Bunzl 745 xd +3

810 63512 Capita 72012xd -112

984 54912 De La Rue 840 +10

29478 20534 Electrocmps 290 +218

819 578 Experian 774 +7

28234 23734 G4S 27578xd

452 24134 Hyder Cons 370 +5

299 18312 Interserve 28912xd +12

550 33734 Menzies J 550 +11

34634 15214 Northgate 32212 +3

30834 20838 Prem Farnell 30038 +114

12134 8414 Rentokil 9678 +58

12012 79 Smiths News 9712xd +212

34 1914 Speedy Hire 3214 -112

1127 709 Travis & P 1028xd +27

2261 1223 Wolseley 1975xd +26

Tech Hardware & Equip

Index 736.75 ▲ 6.56

651 23912 ARM Hldgs 556 +412

28 1934 BATM 2512 +14

10234 7134 Psion 8934 +114

16014 10412 Spirent Comms 15118 +118

Tobacco

Index 31445.60 ▼ 11.50

274512 200612 Br Am Tob 271812 -7

2231 1767 Imperial Tob 2176 +11

Travel & Leisure

Index 4662.47 ▼ 23.59

3153 2037 Carnival 2470xd -15

594 501 Compass Gp 574 -1

479 32214 easyJet 345 -18

12234 77 Enterprise Inns 77 -114

41258 31114 FirstGroup 34112 -734

1504 1042 Go-Ahead Gp 1450 +10

50212 37614 Greene King 48514 -1

360 240 Holidaybreak 26912 +2912

1435 982 Intercontl Htls 1258xd +6

285 21278 Intl Cons Airlns 23034 -414

15214 12234 Ladbrokes 14412xd -2

11718 9038 Marston’s 10978 -18

361 274 Mitchells&Btlrs 31714 +134

9038 58 Punch Taverns 7258 -38

15234 9434 Rank Gp 14834 -112

335 20814 Restaurant Gp 29558xd +338

24678 16034 Stagecoach 23778

20734 145 Thomas Cook 14534 +34

27178 190 TUI Travel 22914 -12

1887 1315 Whitbread 1657xd -19

Utilities

Index 4706.40 ▲ 39.26

34618 26412 Centrica 321 xd +534

121212 89712 Dee Valley 1210 -212

63212 48414 National Grid 62412 +112

675 503 Pennon Gp 663 +7

1515 1135 Severn 1481 +4

63112 520 Utd Utils 61412 +112

AIM

Index 866.33 ▼ 3.26

26 758 API Gp 2438 -12

1334 412 Armour Gp 5

564 19012 Cape 50712xd -4

134 1 Crimson Tide 112

214 112 Dawson Intl 2

838 438 Eckoh 818

20212 1112 JJB Sports 2614 +12

3512 1534 Johnson Serv 3312xd

86 3034 Man Brnze 5512 +34

12 4 Metalrax 1058

550 355 Portmeirion P 49212xd -212

17312 55 Redhall Gp 6912 +12

5112 1112 Scapa Gp 4912

142 110 Swallowfield 110 xd

7938 67 Uniq 79 +238

670 510 Young A 60214 -514

May 2 - May 6 May 9 - May 13 May 16 - May 20 M T W T F5820

5880

5940

6000

6060

FTSE-100

20-Day Moving Average


businessdiary

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Wednesday, June 1A networking event forpeople in the in thecharity and voluntarysector has been organ-ised by LiverpoolChamber of Commerceand Liverpool Charityand Voluntary Ser-vices. The free event,from 5.30pm-7.30pm, is

being held at BarclaysCorporate’s office at 20Chapel Street, and thebank will provide someinsights into aspects ofcharity funding andfinance. To book, call0151 227 1234.

Thursday, June 2Merseyside’s self-pro-claimed “geek com-

munity” will be gather-ing once again for thenext Ignite Liverpoolevent. Ignite seespresenters given fiveminutes to talk abouttheir passions. Subjectsfor debate this timewill include “recordbuying in a pre inter-net age” and theimportance of teachingsoftware coding to chil-dren. For information,visit www.igniteliver-

pool.defnetmedia.comTuesday, June 7

QVC’s general managerJames Keegan and itstraining and develop-ment consultant JennyProctor will present atwo-hour course out-lining the QVCapproach to the cus-tomer experience. TheKnowsley Chamber ofCommerce event is freeto members and £12 fornon-members. It starts

at 4pm and is at QVC,South Boundary Road,Knowsley IndustrialPark. To book, visitwww.knowsley cham-ber.org/events.php

Wednesday, June 8Bruntwood chairmanMichael Oglesby is thekeynote speaker at thesummer philanthropylunch. It costs £20 forLiverpool Chambermembers and £30 fornon-memebrs and is at

Radisson Blu, Old HallStreet. It is from12pm-2.15pm – to book,call 0151 227 1234.

Thursday, June 9The latest Fish! net-working event is takingplace from5.30pm-8.30pm. [email protected] more details.

Thursday, June 9A UK Trade and Invest-ment roadshow on Fin-ancing the Future:

Export Credits Guaran-tee is being held atDaresbury Laboratory.It will explain moreabout new ECGDproducts that wereannounced in therecent white paper,Trade and Investmentfor Growth. The freeevent is from1.30pm-4pm. For moredetails, [email protected].

Moody’stodowngraderatingsof14BritishbanksandlendersCREDIT rating agency Moody’s maydowngrade 14 British lenders, includ-ing Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland,because regulators appear less willingto bail out banks in the future.

Lenders which face rating cuts byMoody’s also include Santander’s Brit-ish operations, National AustraliaBank’s Clydesdale arm, Bank of Ire-land UK, and Nationwide BuildingSociety, the agency said yesterday.

Analysts said the move had beenwidely expected, while Moody’s saidits decision did not indicate a weak-ening in either government financesor the banks.

“The reassessment is notdriven by either a deterior-ation in the financial strengthof the banking system or thatof the Government,” saidElisabeth Rudman, a Moody’ssenior credit officer and leadanalyst for a number of Brit-ish banks.

“It has been initiated inresponse to ongoing guidancefrom the UK authorities (theBank of England, the Finan-cial Services Authority andthe Treasury) that banks thatfail in the future should notexpect capital injections fromthe public purse.”

Shares in Britain's banks slipped inline with European peers, while ster-ling recovered from an initial dip as itshrugged off news of a disappointingstart to the fiscal year for Britain’spublic finances.

Moody’s said Co-Operative Bank andthe Coventry, Newcastle, Norwich &Peterborough, Nottingham, Principal-

ity, Skipton, West Bromwich and York-shire building societies were also atrisk of downgrades that would push up

their cost of borrowing.Among listed banks, the rat-

ing agency kept a “negative”outlook on HSBC’s ratingsand cut guidance for futureBarclays ratings moves to“negative” from “stable”.

Canaccord Genuity analystCormac Leech said theMoody’s statement was notthat surprising, given movesby regulators around theworld to avoid a repeat of thecredit crisis, when taxpayershad to step in to rescuetroubled banks.

“It is a clear objective of theregulators to not have to bail out fin-ancial institutions going forward,”said Leech.

Regulators and politicians acrossEurope are drawing up reforms thatwould allow some banks to fail infuture, in a bid to avoid a repeat ofgovernment bail-outs of 2008 that costtaxpayers billions of euros.

Proposals drawn up by the

Whatdoyouthink?EMAIL us withyour views [email protected],or write to usPO Box 48, OldHall Street,LiverpoolL69 3EB

European Commission include makingbondholders take losses.

In Britain, the Government has setup an Independent Commission onBanking (ICB) to look into how tomake the banking sector safer andmore competitive, and how to dealwith banks considered too big to fail.

Commission Chairman John Vick-ers told lawmakers yesterday, however,that while his proposals would reducethe risk to taxpayers, there wouldalways be some implicit subsidy of thebanking system.

“There are always going to be cir-

cumstances when the Government willfeel committed to come to the rescue ofbanks,” Vickers told Parliament’sTreasury Select Committee.

In an interim report in April, theICB said top banks should ring-fenceretail arms from riskier trading oper-ations and hold more capital to protecttaxpayers from future crises.

Moody’s had already said in Aprilthat it could downgrade Britain’s smal-ler banks as it assessed how theywould fare without a tacit understand-ing that the government would alwaysbail them out if they got into trouble.

Lloyds Banking Group is one of 14 British lenders facing adowngrade by credit ratings agency, Moody’s Picture: DOMINIC LIPINSKI

LondonmarketMARKS & Spencer wasthe FTSE 100 Index’s topfaller yesterday, despiteposting a 13% rise inannual profits as analystsfretted that its resultscould be “as good as itgets” for the retailer.

The retail bellwether,which has enjoyed astrong run in recentweeks, fell 11.4p to 385.6p,or nearly 3%, as investorslooked beyond the rise infull-year profits to £714.3m,and noted the company’scautious comments ontrading this year.

Despite a share slide atM&S, the FTSE 100 Indexstaged a modest recoveryfollowing Monday’s majorsell-off and rose 22.5points to 5858.4.

The pound was downagainst the euro at 1.15after the single currencybenefited from strongereconomic data from Ger-many, but was up againstthe dollar at 1.62.

Miners were among thebiggest risers after ben-efiting from improvedsentiment. This helpedoffset some of the heavylosses seen yesterday inthe London blue-chipindex, following fearsover the eurozone debtcrisis and falteringChinese growth.

However, London’s pro-gress was stunted by adifficult session for UKbanks, after Moody’s said14 of the 18 banks andbuilding societies it cov-ers were in danger of rat-ings downgrades, due tothe withdrawal of emer-gency support.

The biggest Footsierisers were Fresnillo, up54p at 1356p, CairnEnergy, ahead 16.6p at435.8p, Aggreko, up 57pat 1769p, and Antofa-gasta, ahead 36p, at 1196p.

The biggest Footsiefallers were Marks &Spencer, down 11.4p at385.6p, Lloyds BankingGroup, off 1.1p at 49.7p,International Consolid-ated Airlines Group,down 4.2p at 230.8p, andITV, off 0.9p, at 68.1p.


Charityeventisanetgainforpropertyman

Martyn Green, of King Sturge – oversees sales at the city centre One Park West development

■ IT IS hats off to GeoHarris, of Sains-

bury’s, in Old Hall Street,Liverpool, who just keepspushing the boundariesin her quest to raise cashfor children’s hospiceClaire House.

Geo, below, has beenraising money for over ayear now.

Her exploits haveincluded dressing up insilly costumes and abseil-ing down tall buildings.

However, her greatestchallenge comes tomor-row night at the MarriottHotel where she will per-form a five-minute stand-up comedy routine at the3rd Annual Comedy

Show, in aid of ClaireHouse.

Her act will comprise“observational humour”,so anyone who regularlyuses Sainsbury’s, in OldHall Street, may findthemselves part of the acttomorrow.

■ PROPERTY groupPeel has big ambit-

ions – Liverpool and Wir-ral Waters and the super-port.

Perhaps no surprise,then, to see the firm try-ing to generate cash fromwherever it can.

This week, a photo-graphic colleague of oursfrom the Liverpool Echowas down at Peel’sPrinces Dock with amodel doing a fashionshoot.

Our man was happilysnapping away when asecurity guard appearedand insisted they stop.

“You can’t just turn upand do this,” he said.“There is a charge andit’s £5,000 an hour.”

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workingday

5.45am: Woke up well before thealarm went off, which is really annoy-ing – can’t get back to sleep no matterhow hard I try – might as well get upand grab a coffee and watch the news.

6.50am: Made some porridge and acoffee (still on the New Year diet –don’t know how long this will last)then toasted some crumpets and madea drink for my wife. Time for her to getup now.

7.15am: Get dressed while watchingmore of the BBC Breakfast News.Susannah Reid and Charlie Stayt keep-ing me well informed on what’s goingon around the world.

8am: Pull in to my parking space atOne Park West, our most successfulresidential development currently onoffer.

Guy Butler, the development dir-ector, is also in the car park.

We are meeting later but quicklydiscuss the offers received this week –nine sales this month – maybe thingsare looking up.

8.15am: Quick chat to Kevin, the con-cierge at One Park West, to see howthings are going in the building.

He has recently started tweeting –discuss how many followers he hasand what his plans are for the day.

8.40am: Arrive at the office and openmy emails.

Have a quick Tweet myself aboutour new gadget show flat at One ParkWest – it’s got a 3-D telly, LCD projectorand bar – only just got into this@green_martyn. Hope I get some morefollowers.

Once emails checked and tweettweeted, I then pop to see the sales andlettings teams downstairs. Good week,guys.

10am: Quick conference call with StPaul’s Square, another of our resid-ential schemes we are selling.

Discuss recent marketing activitiesand how the new shared equityscheme is attracting a good level ofinterest and sales to first-time buyerswith limited deposits.

Really positive feedback from view-ers – we have five offers this week todiscuss.

11am: Start the preparation for acharitable tennis coaching eventwhich is due to be held on May 19 atChavasse Park, Liverpool One.

We are offering free coaching to dis-advantaged children being supportedby Positive Futures Charity – reallylooking forward to this.

12noon: Coffee with a guy from a PRagency.

We discuss the charity event and thefact that we have also just signed up tobe sponsors of the Liverpool Internat-ional Tennis Tournament to be held inJune at Calderstones Park.

It is a great PR opportunity, plus I

get to watch legends such as GregRusedski and Martina Navratilova.

1pm: Lunch at my desk – cheese sand-wich, apple juice and some fruit.Check up on BBC news on the internetto see if the world has changed sincebreakfast.

2pm: Call to Clare Corran from Pos-itive Futures re charity event. Theyare a great local charity helping dis-advantaged kids in Liverpool, agreethat 20-30 kids can attend the coachingday. Let her know we are giving sometickets for the tournament away asprizes – she is delighted.

3.30pm: Meeting with One Park Westto discuss sales and marketing.

5pm: Spruce up and leave the officefor drinks.

7pm: Out for a meal with Simon, fromSimon Parker Tennis – he’s doing thetennis coaching for us at the event. Eatat The Noble House – the clam chow-der is amazing, but am totally blownaway by the paprika chicken.

10pm: A few Bacardi and Cokes laterand it’s a taxi home and back to bed –hopefully I won’t wake before thealarm tomorrow.

MartynGreenisapartneraKingSturgepropertyconsultants,basedinCastleStreet,Liverpool.Thiswashisday:

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LDP Business 25.05.11