LDP Business - 3rd August 2011

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BUSINESS REPORTER:NEIL HODGSON0151 472 2451

THE saviour of TJ Hughes is behindthe revival of another iconic Liverpoolretailer – Lewis’s.

Anil Juneja, managing director ofSpeke-based wholesale and retail busi-ness the Benross Group, was revealedon Monday as the man behind theacquisition of the TJ’s name, the flag-ship London Road store and threeother sites across the country whichhe says will form the springboard tobuild up the brand once more.

Last month, he also bought thename of former stores group Lewis’sfrom receivers, following the collapse,

in May, 2010, of the famous Liverpoolretailer which traced its history backto 1856.

Mr Juneja said Lewis’s will bereborn later this year in a Bury storeopening, hopefully followed by areturn to its spiritual home in a Liv-erpool store.

He said: “Lewis’s was a brand thatwas well loved throughout the NorthWest and I want to open a new storeconcept. I have signed for a new storeand hope to open that later this year inBury, but I am looking at Liverpool aswell.”

He also has big plans for the revivalof TJ’s after purchasing four storesfrom administrator Ernst & Young.

Mr Juneja plans to build TJ’s on the

high street and online, and said he wasconsidering buying more of theremaining 52 TJ’s stores from theadministrator.

He said: “I was born and bred inLiverpool, and TJ’s is part of my his-tory and I want it to be part of thefuture. I want to bring TJ’s back towhere it should be and might buyother stores.”

He added: “I have a passion forretail.

“I have put everything into this andI am putting a lot on the line per-sonally.”

He declined to reveal the cost of theTJ’s acquisition, but said it was beingfunded entirely from the current oper-ations of Benross, and involved no out-

side investment. Benross is a majorsupplier of homewares, gardenware,electrical items and toys to retailersthroughout the UK.

It has a turnover of almost £30m andemploys 110 staff, evenly split betweenits distribution base on Speke’s BridgeIndustrial Estate and a Midlands retailoutlet in Cannock.

It also operates offices in Hong Kongand Ningbo, a North Eastern seaportin China.

Mr Juneja said he hopes to take pos-session of the London Road store andthe other three sites in Eastbourne,Glasgow and Sheffield next Monday,and has already interviewed former

TJ’ssaviourtoreviveiconicLewis’sbrand

DawnofaneweraatrefineryFULL STORY: PAGES 8-9

THE London marketdropped to its lowestlevel for a month yes-terday as fresh wor-ries about the strengthof the US economyemerged, eventhough the countrylooked close to sign-ing off a deal to avoida debt default.

Consumer spendingdropped 0.2% in June– its biggest fall fornearly two years, rais-ing further doubtsabout the US economy.

Meanwhile, on WallStreet, the Dow Jonesindustrial averagewas down 266, or2.2%, at 11,867, theS&P closed down 33points, at 1,254, andthe Nasdaq was down75, or 2.8%, to closeat 2,669.

MARKET REPORT:PAGE 15

FTSE-1005718.39

56.04▼

Comparisonsite investorsshare £20mPRICE comparisonwebsite MoneySuper-market.com hands a£20m bonus to itsshareholders after “agreat six months”.

PAGE 2

Energy callMANUFACTURERS’organisation EEFurges the Govern-ment to adopt itscompensation pack-age of measures toease the financial bur-den on energy-intens-ive sectors.

PAGE 4

MSIF on moveBUSINESS fundingprovider MerseysideSpecial InvestmentFund is leaving itswaterfront home fora new city base.

PAGE 6

inside

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2 Wednesday, August 3, 2011

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1 Pubs for sale in demerger2 Artemis founders in split3 Regal Wholesale to expand4 French firm’s Lewis’s plan5 Ineos boss gets £23m payoutldpbusiness.co.uk

Updatesthroughoutthe day

Cash-richcomparisonsitein£20mdividendpayout

Revivalof TJ’s‘will taketime’

head office and buyingstaff made redundantby the administratorabout returning to thebusiness.

“We would like tosecure all the jobs inthe TJ’s stores we haveacquired.”

But he warned therevival of TJ’s will taketime as the companyhad to work within itsmeans.

“We would like to getthe stock back in thereand offer those greatvalue products thatTJ’s is known for.

“We have been sup-plying the retailindustry for manyyears, so our offershould be better and wewill be working hard towork with existing sup-pliers and bring freshideas from our overseasoperations.”

He added: “We willmake small makeovers,but that will take time.”

His father Paul, whois acting group chair-man, ran import busi-ness Double Vee, justbehind TJ’s, in DevonStreet, and in 1995bought Benross out ofreceivership.

“He put everythingon the line and savedthe business and wentfrom strength tostrength and openedoffices in the Far East.”

Five years later, MrJuneja embarked on hisown retail career whenhe joined his father atBenross.

Chambersclaimredtapecutswouldcreatenewjobs

newsLDPbusiness .co.uk

PRICE comparison website Money-Supermarket.com handed a £20mbonus to its shareholders after “a greatsix months”.

The group, based in Ewloe, nearChester, saw pre-tax profits soar morethan 300%, from £2.9m to £12.53m andrevenues jump by 28% to £91.7m in thesix months to June 30.

Its cash reserves grew from £28.3mto £32.2m, which will fund a specialdividend payout for shareholders thatchief executive Peter Plumb saysreflects the board’s confidence infuture trading.

The interim dividend will rise by15% to 1.5p per share, while the £20mdividend is worth 3.93p per share.

A £3.5m credit was also paid by HMRevenue & Customs after upholding anappeal by the company concerning theVAT treatment of certain of its lines ofbusiness.

The group said its results had beendriven by continued investment in itstechnology and brand.

It paid £2.7m for new hardware andsoftware, and raised its marketing out-lay by 51% to £5.2m, including spon-sorship of the Britain’s Got Talent ITVshow.

Trading since the end of the interimperiod has continued to improve, withrevenues in July about 15% ahead ofthe previous year.

The group operates in four key mar-kets.

Insurance provides customers withcomparisons on products such ascover for breakdown, dental treatment,homes, life and medical and in the six-month period achieved a 57% improve-ment in revenues of £50.3m.

Money includes credit cards, cur-rent accounts, mortgages and loansand showed a rise of 30% to £27m.

Travel, offering comparisons on carhire, flights, hotels and package hol-idays, was comparatively flat, showingjust 9% growth to £7.6m, while home

services, including broadband, mobilephone and utilities products, was alsostagnant, showing a 4% improvementto £3.64m.

Mr Plumb said: “MoneySupermar-ket.com has had a great six months.

“We have seen strong trading

momentum through the period anddelivered double digit growth in bothrevenue and profits, driven by ourinvestment in our brand and tech-nology.”

He added: “Looking ahead, while theoutlook for the economy remains

uncertain, we are confident that ourmarkets will continue to grow.

“More and more consumers aregoing online to find the best deals, andthe unrivalled strength and breadth ofour offer makes us well-placed to makethe most of those opportunities.”

TOP FIVE

MoneySupermarket.com founder Simon Nixon, left, and chief executive Peter Plumb – we are wellplaced to make the most of opportunities in the market

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LIVERPOOL’SINVESTMENTSPECIALISTS

SMALL firms would employmore staff if red tape was cut,claims a new British Cham-bers of Commerce report.

The survey says thatemployment legislation, suchas pension requirements, dis-missal rules and sickness

absence rules, deter soletraders from taking on theirfirst employee.

It calls for an exemptionfrom “burdensome” employ-ment legislation to encouragesmall firms to employ more.

Forthcoming pension rules

were identified by 32% ofrespondents as the biggestbarrier to taking on staff,while 27% were concerned bydismissal procedures.

Maresa Molloy, head ofpolicy at Liverpool Chamber,said: “The proportion of enter-

prises with no employees hasincreased each year since2004. There are over 3.6m soletraders, and while not allwant, or have the potential, toexpand, some do.

“Businesses consistentlystate employment regulation

prevents them from taking onmore staff. In an environmentof high unemployment andweak economic growth, theGovernment has to look athow it can free up businessowners and allow them togrow their enterprises.”

CONTINUED FROMPAGE 1

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Ifeelguiltysayingtherecessionhashelpedus–butit’sthetruth

TonyMcDonoughmeetsMARKFRIEND,MDofBistroQui?

LDPbusiness .co.uk

Mark Friend – believes Bistro Qui?’s combination of fresh food and competitive prices has been a major selling point in tough economic timesPicture: PAUL HEAPS/ ph290711bistro-2

Age: 43Highest educational qualification:History and sociology degree from theUniversity of SurreyBiggest achievement in business:When we became so busy that wedesperately needed a head office, werealised we were doing somethingrightBest advice received: Life is not arehearsalStill to achieve: I can’t see us everbeing satisfied

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WHEN Mark Friend was a young boygrowing up in Liverpool, his fatherwould treat the family to a meal outtwice a year.

“I was mesmerised by being in arestaurant,” he said.

Now aged 43, that youthful enthus-iasm for the restaurant traderemains and is a key driver in thesuccess of his business – Bistro Qui?

Bistro Qui? is jointly owned byFriend and his business partner andbrother-in-law, Stephen Slater.

Eight years ago, the pair took overan existing French-themed eaterie inLiverpool city centre – Bistro Pierre.

Like true entrepreneurs, theyremortgaged homes and put everypenny they had into the venture.

The gamble paid off and now Bis-tro Qui? operates four outlets in Liv-erpool with a fifth soon to open inShrewsbury.

Bistro Pierre is located in ButtonStreet, a small thoroughfare betweenMathew Street and Lord Street.

It could be described as a hiddengem, but its location did initiallyworry Friend.

“My biggest fear when we startedout was that it was a little bit tootucked away,” he said.

“Before we bought it, we would siton the step of a nearby building andwatch how many people were goinginto the restaurant.

“It was not quite enough, but wecould see the potential was there, sowe took the plunge.

“We believed we could have themcoming in in droves. It has proved tobe very good for us.

“We took a chance because wetook it over in November and had towork day and night to refurbish andreopen for the first Christmas book-ings in early December.

“When the first parties came in, itwas literally ‘watch the wet paint’.”

Bistro Pierre really does have thatrustic, French ambience. The build-ing was formerly a corn warehouse.

The success of the outlet enabledFriend and Slater to open a secondFrench outlet four years later – Bis-tro Jacques, in Hardman Street.

This was followed by Bistro Franc,in Hanover Street, and a gastro pubcalled the Hub Alehouse & Kitchen,in the nearby Casartelli Building.

The duo want to open 10 outletsacross the North West, with a Frenchoutlet in Shrewsbury opening soon.

The recession has actually turnedout to be advantageous for the busi-ness, with its offer-driven approach.Offering two or three courses for set

prices has proved a hit with dinerslooking for value.

Friend added: “I almost feel guiltysaying the recession has done us afavour, but it is true.

“Our mission statement – makinggood times taste great – sums up ourapproach.

“Each one of our restaurants iswarm and inviting and we changethe menu every day, offering mealscooked with fresh ingredients.

“We have a loyalty scheme but wedon’t do discounts as we are alreadyvery offer-driven.

“We have a lot of loyalty from cus-tomers. People who came to BistroPierre eight years ago are still com-ing back now.

“The friendly feel they get in therestaurants is very real because weare a very family-oriented business.

“We have couples working for us,as well as girls and their mothers.All our staff are rigorously trainedand we are proud that this is ahomegrown chain of Liverpool res-taurants.”

The entrepreneurial spirit wasevident in Friend, who spent most ofhis childhood in Childwall, from ayoung age.

“I always had ambitions to run myown business,” he said.

“I remember going to fabric shopsnear London Road and buyingleather.

“Mum would make pencil casesout of them and I would take theminto school and sell them.

“I was entrepreneurial from a veryyoung age and I liked the idea ofpaying my own way.”

After doing his A-Levels, Friendstudied history and sociology at theUniversity of Surrey and after gradu-

ating, settled in London. He got a jobselling computers, which he hated,and also worked part-time in thebranch of a restaurant chain calledMongolian Barbeque.

He said: “I worked part-time on thegriddle and liked it so much I gaveup the computers job to work therefull-time.”

Then Friend and his girlfriend(now his wife) took a year out totravel the world.

He said: “It was great, but as timewent by I started to worry aboutwhat it is I would do when I got backto Britain.

“To pay our way on the trip, wewould often work in restaurants andI ended up learning a lot about thebusiness.

“But it wasn’t until we got backthat I realised that actually, that isthe business I want to be in.”

After travelling, Friend came backto Liverpool but shortly afterwardshe got a call from the managing dir-ector of Mongolian Barbeque, a manhe describes as a mentor, offeringhim a management position back inLondon.

He spent several years in Londonworking in various restaurants andoften discussed the possibility of set-ting up a business with Slater.

Following the birth of his firstchild, Friend felt the urge to be backnear his family and relocated back toMerseyside.

He ran and then sold a cafe inChester, and it was then that he andSlater decided to turn their amb-itions into reality.

Bistro Qui? now employs 140 staffbut early on it was all hands to thepump and they would do everythingbut the cooking. These days, each

restaurant now has a general man-ager and Friend and Slater have beenable to step back from the frontlineand concentrate more on the overallstrategy of the business.

“In the early days, we workedsome very long hours,” said Friend.

“Nowadays, we still put the hoursin but in a different way.

“We both have families and wewant to balance having a successfulbusiness with having a healthy fam-ily life.

“We can now concentrate on theconcept, and the business is morestructured, so we are interfering alot less than we used to.

“You have to trust people to get onwith the job.

“But every day Stephen and I willstill be in talking to customers.”

The pair have family and friendsin Shrewsbury – hence it beingchosen for the next phase of expan-sion.

Friend would also like to open arestaurant in Manchester.

The business is currently embark-ing on a “freshening up” of thebranding on the restaurants, butsays the “fresh food at competitiveprices” policy will not change.

He said: “We might change thelogos, but the offers and the pricesremain the same.

“We want to expand across theNorth West with the bistro brandand we will also look at alternativeconcepts like the gastro pub, whichhas been a great success.

“If you have the cash, there arelots of sites available, and some greatdeals to be done.

“We have a great belief in theconcept and we have the confidencenow to open up anywhere.”


Call toeaseburdenfacingenergy-intensivesectors

The future of Runcorn’s Ineos Chlor plant could hinge on new government carbon trading proposalsPicture: COLIN LANE

FormerICIelectriciantakesseatonboardofHeathownerSOG

ProblemshitToyotaprofits

THE owner of The Heath Busi-ness and Technical Park, inRuncorn, has appointed a newoperations director.

Charles Davies, a former pro-ject manager, will join theboard of SOG, taking the placeof Tony Banner, who retired atthe end of June.

Mr Davies, who began hiscareer as an electrician withICI in 1988, transferred to SOGwhen the company took overthe former ICI chemicalsheadquarters in 2000.

Since then, SOG has trans-formed the location into one ofthe UK’s most successfulindependently-run businessand science parks.

After working his way to pro-

ject manager in 2004, Mr Davieshas now achieved his ambitionto become director before his55th birthday.

He said: “I am absolutelythrilled with my appointment.

“I have always had the driveand ambition to work my wayup to the top of the ladder, andhad set myself a deadline ofbeing appointed onto the boardby the time I was 55.

“I have achieved that a yearearly and I am delighted.”

Mr Davies, who took up hisnew role on July 1, has anextensive remit which includeshuman resources, health andsafety, project management andoperational duties.

SOG managing director, JohnLewis, said: “One of the keys toour business model hasrevolved around protecting theskills base from the ICI days.”

MANUFACTURERS’ organisation EEFis urging the Government to adopt itscompensation package of measures toease the financial burden on energy-intensive sectors.

It claims failure to address the issuewill risk future investment and job cre-ation in the UK.

The warning comes on the back ofanalysis, published by the Governmentlast Friday, showing that climatepolicies could be adding up to 52% toelectricity prices paid by energy-intensive industry by 2020 – a figurethat could still underestimate the coststo industry.

EEF analysis shows that one meas-ure alone – the Carbon Price Floor(CPF) – will cost manufacturing £250ma year when it is introduced in 2013,rising to £1.2bn by 2020. This isequivalent to one third of the sector’sentire spend on training at today’sprices.

Chemicals group Ineos has warnedthat Government and European pro-posals could add £60m a year in costsat its Runcorn chlorine site, raisingfears of closure and the loss of 1,800jobs.

However, it said talks are continuingwith the Government and it hopes asolution is possible.

But, while the cost of the CPF willbe most keenly felt by energy-intensivemanufacturers, EEF says the impactwould also be felt widely across man-ufacturing, including among thoseadvanced manufacturers the Govern-ment is looking at to drive economicgrowth.

For example, fast-growing, non-energy intensive, small and medium-size manufacturers are likely to seetheir electricity bills rise significantlyby the end of the decade.

EEF North West director David Ostsaid: “We have now reached a tipping

point where the cumulative burden ofUK climate change policy will make ituncompetitive for some sectors toinvest and create jobs in the UK.

“Government must show it recog-nises the impact of its policies byswiftly bringing forward measures toensure these key sectors remain in the

UK and continue to invest here.” EEFhas made its own recommendations,including direct compensation for themost electro-intensive sectors affectedby the CPF; compensation for sectorsaffected by increased energy coststhrough the EU Emissions TradingScheme; exemption from the proposed

Feed in Tariffs Consumer Levy, toensure manufacturers are not disad-vantaged compared with their EU andglobal competitors; and additionalClimate Change Levy Relief which theGovernment is able to increase to atleast 90%, compared with its proposedrate of 80% from 2013.


CAR giant Toyota eked out an £8.7m profit inthe last quarter, managing to stay in the blackdespite the devastation of the quake andtsunami in north-eastern Japan.

April-June profit for the world’s biggestvehicle maker, which employs 500 people at itsDeeside plant, was a fraction of the £1.5bn itearned in the same period the previous year.

Quarterly sales crashed 29% because of pro-duction disruptions.

But yesterday the company raised its fore-cast for the full year to March, 2012, sayingsales had held up in Asian nations such asIndonesia.

Toyota raised its annual sales forecast to£150bn, from £147bn. That would mark a slightimprovement from the previous year’s£149.9bn.

Japanese car makers were hit by a shortageof key parts after the March 11 disasters des-troyed suppliers in north-eastern Japan.

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Twittertreasurehunt leadsto CavernADVERTISING agencyMcCann London lastnight offered an inter-view slot to a man whosolved its Liverpooltreasure hunt.

As LDP Creativereported on Monday,McCann staff have beentouring the countryoffering people thechance to win an inter-view for the six-week“McCademy” trainingscheme.

Three of last year’sMcCademists – includ-ing University of Liver-pool graduate SteveCardwell – were in Liv-erpool yesterday.

They posted clues totheir location on Twit-ter – and said the firstperson to find themwould get a guaranteedinterview in London topitch for a place at the2011 McCademy.

They were found byEmile Coleman, whotracked them down tothe Cavern Club.

The “Win your wayin tour” continuestoday in Glasgow, Edin-burgh and Newcastle.

The McCademy pro-gramme sees studentsspend half of theirplacement working onreal accounts, whilethey spend the rest ofthe time in training.

At the end of the sixweeks, they have topitch to McCann, withthe top pitchers secur-ing jobs at the agency.

Emile Coleman

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Charles Davies


Firm tohelp thethirdsectorLIVERPOOL consultancyAppreciating Peoplehas launched a newventure to help thirdsector organisations.

Appreciating Peoplewas set up five yearsago as a consultancyhelping companies andother bodies with devel-opment and training.

Now it is setting upAppreciation Works, acommunity interestcompany that will helpthird sector organisat-ions “excel and grow”.

Tim Slack, co-founder of Apprec-iating People, said:“Appreciating Workswill provide a range ofservices specificallyaimed at the com-munity sector, includ-ing organisationaldevelopment, planning,support and training.

“During our fiveyears in business, wehave helped over 40organisations.

“Sadly, we haverecently seen manythird sector organisat-ions struggling to sur-vive and individualsare trying to work outhow to maintain theirwell being.”

Appreciating Peoplehelps organisations“ask difficult questionsand construct new vis-ions and plans” basedon existing strengthsand potential.

The programmeswork through layersthat exist in organisat-ions, breaking downthe gaps that occur byfacilitating employeeengagement.

Mr Slack added:“Appreciating Peoplewould benefit anyorganisation at anypoint in its life cycle.”

Vauxhall tocontinuepupilawarenessprogrammeA PILOT scheme by carmaker Vauxhall to explaincareer opportunities in themanufacturing industry hasbeen so successful it is to becontinued.

Undergraduates joining thecompany’s Ellesmere Portplant last year were chal-lenged to provide pupils inschools and colleges across

the North West with aninsight into manufacturing.

The group designed a fun,educational activity day offer-ing hands-on activities toraise awareness of the carindustry, before students con-sider their future careeroptions.

They visited their firstschool last December and

have since involved more than1,100 pupils in their activityevents, which recently con-cluded at Tarporley HighSchool.

Feedback shows that 91% ofthose who took part now seemanufacturing and its pro-spects in a more positive light,and one student said: “I likedit because I learnt more about

the automotive industry, andit may give me a choice inlater life”.

The response from teachershas also been encouraging, asone career guidance teachersaid: “Not only have theygained a greater awareness ofthe broad range of opportun-ities in the automotive man-ufacturing sector, they have

also learned about the value ofmanufacturing to the UK eco-nomy and the level of planningrequired.”

Due to the success of theproject, undergraduates join-ing Vauxhall during 2011/2012will continue to provideschools with the opportunityto experience the manufactur-ing activity day scheme.

GoogleheadstoLiverpooltoworkwithhi-techfirms

Paul Kinlan – we’re looking togo where the developers are


byAlistairHoughtonLDPBUSINESSSTAFFalistair.houghton@liverpool.com

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SeftonagencybackingforMastersofofficespaceSEFTON council has helpeda small firm help more smallfirms on the road to success.

Marketing Masters wasfounded in 2003, specialisingin the healthcare sector, andrecently moved into newoffices on Vesty BusinessPark, Bridle Road, where itoffers versatile office spaceto other small companies.

Masters House providesfurnished units with accessto support services such asadmin, IT, book-keeping andmarketing.

The move was supportedby InvestSefton, Seftoncouncil’s business supportteam, and received recruit-ment assistance fromSefton@Work.

The company employs 14staff and aims to expand to18 in the coming months.Managing director PeterPrice said: “This move rep-resents a significant mile-stone for our company.”

Sefton’s mayor, Cllr PaulCummins, visiting the newbase, said: “It is particularlypleasing that our Invest-Sefton business supportteam has been involved withthe company since the out-set, and has therefore playedits part in this local successstory.”

From left: Gavin Quinn, InvestSefton; Sefton Mayor, Cllr Paul Cummins; Marketing Masters MD Peter Price;and Angela Baruch, InvestSefton

SEARCH engine giant Google is open-ing a base in Liverpool as part of a bidto work with more local softwaredevelopers.

A member of Google’s DeveloperRelations team is taking a desk at newhi-tech shared workspace DoES Liver-pool – and has pledged to work closelywith technology entrepreneurs in Mer-seyside and beyond to help them growtheir businesses.

Paul Kinlan, “developer advocate” atGoogle, will be the latest resident atDoES, in Hanover Street.

The centre was created by a collect-ive of entrepreneurs and freelances asa workspace for software developers,

electronics engineers, and artists. MrKinlan will use DoES as a base fromwhich to visit developers across theNorth West.

He also plans to hold events at thecentre, and will be available to chat toLiverpool developers who want to talkabout Google’s work.

Google’s Developer Relations teamworks with developers and businesseswho want to create software to work onGoogle’s platforms.

Mr Kinlan’s aim is to help create a“thriving ecosystem of third partyapplications” that work with productssuch as the Chrome browser andGoogle Maps.

He said: “We’re looking to go wherethe developers are, and this will giveus the chance to start working moreclosely with developers and businesses

in the north of England.” AdrianMcEwen, one of the team behind DoES,says the workspace is “a mixture ofoffice and 21st-century workshop”.

It provides desks where entrepren-eurs can work alone or alongside othertenants.

DoES will also be used to host eventssuch as GeekUp Liverpool – a network-ing and social event for developers.

Mr McEwen said: “Although ratherdifferent from our usual mix of start-ups and freelances, there’s a great fitbetween Google and DoES Liverpool:we both want to find and help localstart-ups.

“It’s a great opportunity for allinvolved – DoES, Google and the NorthWest.

“We’re very excited for what itmeans for local developers.”


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MSIFtoquitwaterfronthomefornewcitybase

WorkbeginsforWallaseyGPsite

RecruiterssayUKiscontinuingtoseegrowthinemployment

Jane Yates, from Bruntwood, left, with Lisa Greenhalgh, from MSIF, outside Exchange Court

BUSINESS funding provider Mersey-side Special Investment Fund (MSIF)is leaving its waterfront home.

The firm, which has been based inthe Cunard Building for several years,has agreed to take 2,500 sq atExchange Court, next to LiverpoolTown Hall.

The building was formerly ownedby Royal Bank of Scotland beforebeing bought and refurbished byBruntwood.

MSIF has cut staff over the pastcouple of years and now employs just12 people.

It was dealt a blow last year when itfailed in its bid to run the North WestBusiness Loan Fund, part of theEuro-funded North West Fund.

MSIF was set up in 1996 to managemoney from the European RegionalDevelopment Fund, part of the Object-ive 1 programme, that was intended tohelp small businesses in Merseyside.

Between 1996 and 2008 (when itsoriginal funds closed for investment),MSIF invested more than £134m in1,356 businesses.

This helped create and preserve13,511 jobs and brought in excess of£245m private sector investment to theregion.

Despite missing out on the NorthWest Business Loan Fund, it continuesto operate its own £25m legacy fund.

MSIF’s lease at Cunard Buildinghas expired and it is believed thespace at Exchange Court is a lessexpensive option.

Chief operating officer Lisa Green-halgh said: “Agreeing such a longlease underpins our commitment tothe future.

“We have already pledged to invest£25m in local small firms over thenext five years through our Mersey-side Loan & Equity Fund, and, in ourcapacity as a Community Develop-ment Finance Institution (CDFI), wealso manage the Merseyside SmallLoans for Business Fund on behalf ofthe NWDA.”

Exchange Court is now 70% let andtenants include RBS, financialrecruiters Marshall Moore and solic-itors Beech Jones De Lloyd.

Bruntwood has spent £2.3m refur-bishing the office space.

MORE people were placedinto jobs by recruitmentagencies last month, but theincrease was said to be “sub-dued”, according to a reportpublished today.

The Recruitment andEmployment Confederation(REC) said the rate of expan-sion was the slowest for eightmonths, adding that the mostsought-after staff were inengineering and constructionand IT.

The weakest demand forworkers was in the hospital-ity and healthcare sectors.

Kevin Green, chief execut-ive of the REC, said: “Thesefigures show that the jobs

market is continuing to per-form well despite generalweakness in the UK economy.

“We have now had twoyears of continuous growthand employers are still con-tinuing to hire staff, albeitnot in the numbers needed toradically reduce unemploy-ment.

“Employment is just 1% offits pre-recession peak, but theeconomy is still struggling at4% down in comparison with2007/2008 figures. The UK’sflexible labour market is akey reason why employmentis continuing to grow.

“Employers are using largenumbers of temporary work-

ers which, with the AgencyWorkers Regulations lessthan two months away fromimplementation, shows thatbusinesses continue to seethe value of using a flexibleworkforce.

A Department for Workand Pensions spokesmansaid: “We are seeing someencouraging signs in thelabour market, particularlywith the continued rise inprivate sector employment.

“The Government is com-mitted to support the econ-omy and encourage busi-nesses to invest and createjobs. The Work Programme isnow up and running.”

HEALTHCARE property group, Assura, has star-ted the construction of a new GP surgery onBroadway, Wallasey.

The project will see the St Hilary Brow grouppractice relocate from its existing premises in aformer residential and retail unit on WallaseyRoad.

The new two-storey facility will enable the prac-tice to provide a range of new patient services,including a minor surgery suite, in a modernenvironment.

Dr James Kingsland, lead GP at St Hilary Browgroup practice, said: “The practice team arehugely excited that the project has begun, and thatwe will soon see the foundation stones of our newsurgery being laid.”

Cheshire-based Pochin Construction is theappointed contractor for the development, andcompletion is expected in the summer of 2012.

[email protected]

Regional director David Guest said:“This is a significant letting forBruntwood, and it’s testament to thequality of the refurbishment worksand the building’s unique characterthat we have attracted such a

renowned organisation. We haveexperienced a strong first half of 2011,with many new lettings across ourLiverpool city centre portfolio, andExchange Court is attracting furtherinterest.”

ALMOST 20 internswill learn about theworld of professionalservices this summer,after signing up to theVocation Programmewith North Westaccountant KPMG.

The paid internshipwill allow 17 universitystudents in their penul-timate year to exper-ience KPMG and thedifferent types of workthat the firm under-takes for clients oversix to eight weeks.

The interns willwork at KPMG’s threeNorth West offices atLiverpool’s PrincesDock, Manchester andPreston, where theywill join one of thefirm’s specialist busi-ness areas to gainexperience on clientprojects.

Senior partner inLiverpool, Ian Goalen,said: “This schemeprovides an opportun-ity for the interns todevelop new skills anddeepen their apprec-iation of commercialissues; they will be ableto use this experienceto enhance their skillsset and employability.”

KPMG is taking on154 students across thecountry and each stud-ent will be assigned asenior manager asmentor for the durat-ion of the programme.

The work involvedvaries from office tooffice and from team toteam, and typicallyinvolves being part of aKPMG team workingon site at a client’soffice, project work orshadowing KPMG stafffrom different discip-lines within the firm.

Mr Goalen added:“This is a great way ofexperiencing first handwhat is involved.”

Studentinternsat KPMGcoal face

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Wholesalefoodtraderscouldsetupco-operative

Contractwin forElixirGroupKNOWSLEY multi-award winning socialenterprise, ElixirGroup, has secured acontract with BramallsConstruction toreclaim more than 780tonnes per year ofPVCu and glass fromthe Warrington divis-ion of the firm.

The environmentalimpact of this contractrepresents a CO² savingof 1,388 tonnes peryear, by reclaiming andrecycling the compon-ent parts of the PVCuand glass.

Robert Bailey, seniorsite manager atBramall Construction,said: “Elixir Group hasan extremely efficientoperation. We can seethat, by working with asocial enterprise, weare really adding valueto the wider com-munity and creating asustainable businessfor the future.”

Elixir chief executiveBen Donnelly added:“Securing this contractwith such an estab-lished contractor likeBramalls Constructiondemonstrates howsocial enterprises likeElixir Group canprovide the high levelof service needed forlarge private sectororganisations.”

Askingthewrongquestion inevitably leads tothewronganswer

TENANTS at a leading Liverpoolwholesale food market could become aco-operative to safeguard their future.

Meat and fish wholesaler membersof Stanley Market Tenants Associationvoted unanimously to discuss thecreation of a business co-operative.

This would be the first of its kind fora long time in Liverpool.

Stanley Market, the former StanleyAbattoir, on Prescot Road, Old Swan,houses 14 businesses employing 80

people with an annual turnover ofmore than £20m.

The traders met David Hollings, aconsultant with the Co-operativeEnterprise Hub, last week.

Stanley Market is on land owned byLiverpool City Council and leased toManchester-based property managerTerry Krell.

After ceasing use as an abattoir, thebuilding has had a chequered historyand was in receivership for two yearswhen a previous lease-holder went intoliquidation.

Cllr Malcolm Kennedy, cabinet mem-ber for regeneration, said the co-oper-

ative plan had the council’s support.Ken MacAulay, Stanley Market Ten-ants Association chairman, said hewas “very pleased” with the decisionto consider a business co-operative.

“I have witnessed the growing dif-ficulties of operating in this building,”said Mr MacAulay.

“We want better control of our ownsituation and we will examine whethera co-operative model will work for us.”

David Hollings, of Co-operative &Mutual Solutions, said: “The co-oper-ative business model can bring con-crete benefits to the traders at StanleyMarket.”

Jane Kennedy, tenants associationspokesperson and advisor, said thetraders struggled with a buildingdesigned for another use.

Ms Kennedy, former WavertreeLabour MP, said: “The tenants weretired of waiting for years for otherpeople to do things for them.

“A co-operative would give them thestrength to influence crucial factorslike their rents and service charges.

“At last these small, but important,businesses will give a clear indicationof how they want to do things.”

The traders supply fresh meat andfish to caterers throughout the city.



“I DON’T want to choose the holdmusic,” said the increasingly irateperson wanting to pay a bill overthe phone.

It had clearly required a whole

series of committee meetings to comeup with the superficially helpful butintellectually vacant decision toallow callers to select whether theywant pop, hip-hop or classical. Per-haps I could recommend addingFranz Liszt’s Dante Symphony to thelist as appropriate preparation forspeaking to Virgin Media.

The problem is asking the wrongquestion. It does not address “how dowe reduce the time customers spendon hold?” but instead “how do wemake being on hold a better exper-ience?”. From that point, the wronganswer is inevitable.

A retailer was telling me of a sim-ilar problem they are having with

the Valuation Office Agency (VOA),in charge of business rates.

Having lodged an appeal morethan a year ago, the latest attempt tomove it along was met withan unfathomable response.

“We are waiting for morebusinesses in your area tolodge appeals so we candeal with them together,”replied the VOA.

Again, the wrong answercomes from asking thewrong question. The VOA’squestion has not been “howdo we ensure the original assessmentis correct?” but has been over-whelmed by the crisis management

approach to become “how do we dealwith the deluge of complaints?”

The VOA’s approach creates delayslong enough for companies to be

worn down or to go out ofbusiness.

But because the systemcan’t cope, it is encouragingmore people to appealbecause there is no confid-ence in its originaldecision, which means thatthe system continues to getoverloaded at the front end.

The bureaucratic night-mare is clear from the fact that threeappeals listed to be heard by theValuation Tribunal in early Septem-

ber are for the police stations inUpton, Heswall and Birkenhead.

So that’s taxpayers’ money beingspent to lodge an appeal which willbe defended by the Valuation Office,at taxpayers’ expense, in front of apanel, convened at taxpayers’expense, to decide how much taxpay-ers’ money should move from oneGovernment department to another.

If Dante were writing today, hewould add a tenth circle in his jour-ney to the depths of hell – bureau-cracy.

‘There isoftennoconfidenceinthedecision’

Propertyfirmscall forworktostayinMerseysideLIVERPOOL’S property glit-terati came out in force thisweek to attend the thirdmeeting of the recently-launched Liverpool PropertyClub (LPC).

The meeting saw a strongmessage delivered by spon-sors for the city’s propertysector to “work “harder andsmarter” to ensure propertysector opportunities createdin Merseyside stay withMerseyside firms.

The event, at Sakura, atExchange Flags, saw morethan 80 people from the sec-tor attend.

The club has beenlaunched by a group of pro-fessional consultants,including Innov8 SafetySolutions, construction con-sultancy firm Sutcliffe, pro-ject managers and quantitysurveyors Todd & Ledson,and Nobles Construction.

Sutcliffe managing dir-ector John Sutcliffe said adefinite mood of optimism isemerging within the sector.

He added: “Liverpool hasone of the most talented andkeenest property scenes inBritain.

“The appetite to succeed,and passion for Liverpoolproperty, burns as brightlyas ever.” Members of the Liverpool Property Club gather at Sakura, in the city’s Exchange Flags

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■ ALEX TURNER is the general man-ager of financial training firmAmbitious Minds

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Otherregionsoftheworldareimportant tous

New era for Stanlow rEssartakesover landmarksiteandoffers investmentpledge,asAlistairHoughton reports

Essar’s Stanlow refinery, as seen fromthe roof of its administration centre;and, inset, the site’s general manager,Frank Willsdon

Pictures: JASON ROBERTS/jr010811stanlow-21; and, inset, jr010811stanlow-10

LDPbusiness .co.ukLDPbusiness .co.uk

THEY didn’t play OMD’s synthpop epicStanlow when, on the stroke of midnight,the Shell flag was lowered on the epon-ymous Cheshire refinery and replacedwith the Essar banner.

But those workers present to mark thestart of a new era at the landmarkrefinery will surely hope the song’s lyricremains true – “Eternally,” sings AndyMcCluskey, “this field remains Stanlow”.

On Monday, Stanlow was officiallytaken over by India-focused group EssarEnergy.

Essar bought the 1,350-hectare sitefrom Royal Dutch Shell, in a deal whosetotal value comes to more than $1bn.

Its first instalment, of £108m, has nowbeen paid, while a second £108m instal-ment is due in a year’s time.

Essar has also paid Shell £564m for thecrude oil and fuels stored on the site.

Now London-listed Essar is promisingto upgrade the site, with a four-yearinvestment plan worth some £250m.

The site is currently running at 70%capacity, but Essar hopes to boost that toalmost full capacity within months.

The takeover was a prolonged process,with talks beginning in 2009.

But, with the uncertainty over, generalmanager Frank Willsdon says Stanlow’sstaff are optimistic about what the futureholds.

He said: “For this site, it’s the first timefor quite a long time that we’ve heardabout investment and growth opportun-ities and looking to maximise the capac-ity of the asset here.

“From a site point of view, and fromthe employees’ point of view, it’s a verypositive message.

“We’re looking forward to growth andpotential investment on the site, which isdifferent from our recent experiencehere.”

He added: “We want to maintain along-term future both for the employeeshere, and for the people who might join inthe future.”

Just like a 1980s pop video, the Stanlowtakeover was well choreographed. By thetime visitors arrived on Monday morn-ing, all signs around the complex hadbeen changed to Essar, while a giantEssar banner had been plastered on thecompany’s headquarters building.

Staff had, said Mr Willsdon, “workedround the clock” to get the siteready for its new dawn.

The only signs of its formerowner were red and yellowstripes high up on some of therefinery towers – and thosestripes, too, will soon disappear.

Mr Willsdon said: “When ouremployees came in today,they’ve seen and felt a differ-ent-looking site and started tofeel part of a new company.

“We’re entering the new world in theright spirit and with some momentum.”

Senior managers from Essar Energy,and its parent industrial conglomerate,Essar Group, were visiting Stanlow tomark the occasion.

Essar Energy’s chief executive, NareshNayyar, confirmed that Essar planned toinvest $100m a year in “health, safety andenvironment” work at the plant.

He said that while Essar’s plans for

Stanlow were still at an early stage, therewere some “quick wins” it planned tofocus on to improve the site’s perform-ance.

That could include the site producing awider range of products – “optimising thecrude mix”, as Mr Nayyar puts it – aswell as improving its operational effic-

iency.He said: “We will work with

the local management to seehow we can improve the oper-ational efficiency of the site,even if it requires some invest-ment.”

Stanlow is a regional icon, asshown by the fact that Wirralnatives OMD chose to title asong after it on their 1980

album, Organisation.It is impressive by day, but by night it

becomes a shimmering sci-fi city of flash-ing lights and flares, visible from milesaround.

But Stanlow is of more than regionalimportance. The site is the UK’ssecond-biggest refinery and produces 15%of the UK’s petrol supply.

It produces products from jet fuel topetrol, and from bitumen to LPG.

So it’s easy to see why it would be suchan important target for Essar Energy,which is looking to grow into marketsbeyond its home country. Stanlowprovides it with a foothold in theEuropean market.

Mr Nayyar said there were three keyreasons why Essar bought Stanlow – thesize and quality of the refinery, the factthat it can be used to import oil fromEssar’s Vadinar refinery, and the fact thatit was for sale at an attractive price.

He said: “The consideration which wehave come to with Shell we believe isvery attractive compared to similar trans-actions which have taken place in thispart of the world.”

Vadinar currently produces 300,000barrels a day, though that will go up to375,000 barrels a day later this year. Onceexpansion work is completed next year, itwill produce 400,000 barrels day.

Essar also owns a 50% stake in theKenya Petroleum Refineries facility inMombasa, Kenya, which produces 80,000barrels a day.

Stanlow adds up to 296,000 barrels aday to Essar’s output. Mr Nayyar said:“It’s a quantum jump in terms of thewhole refinery capacity of Essar Energy.”

IT WAS an unusuallybusy news day on thefinancial markets yester-day.

Now that the US Gov-ernment debt crisisappears to have beenresolved for the timebeing, it’s time to returnour attention to what’shappening in the widerglobal economy. Investorsand traders were hit by aglut of official facts andfigures from the US andelsewhere that have givencause for some consider-able anxiety.

American consumerspending was down 0.2%,according to figures pub-lished yesterday. It’s thefirst drop in two years,and comes on top of GDPdata that shows thatgrowth in the US econ-omy is every bit as slug-gish as Britain’s.

There were other con-cerns around yesterday,too, including Italy’s pub-lic finance crisis, but per-haps the most concerningof all was news thatBrazil’s economy is slow-ing.

Industrial productionin Brazil fell more thanexpected in June fromMay, the latest sign thatLatin America’s largesteconomy is slowing fromblockbuster growth lastyear, even as inflationarypressures still weigh.

Brazilian industrialproduction dropped 1.6%in June, according to gov-ernment figures yester-day. That was far worsethan analysts had beenexpecting.

The figures havesparked a big debate inBrazil about how quicklythe economy is slowingdown, giving weight to amore pessimistic view ofgrowth.

To this point in time,Brazil has been one of thebulwarks against globaldownturn. Its economy,the largest in LatinAmerica, is seen as oneof the world’s most prom-inent emerging markets.In particular, its mineralshave been used to stokeChina’s huge growth. Ithad been hoped thatBrazil, and countries likeit, would help pull therest of us out of the eco-nomic doldrums.

Any slowdown inBrazil must be a worryfor everyone else. Itserves to demonstratethat it is possible to bedistracted too much byissues affectingdeveloped Western eco-nomies when, in fact,other regions of theworld are becomingincreasingly important tous too.

THE move by Speke-based wholesalerBenross to acquire boththe TJ Hughes andLewis’s names is interest-ing.

Benross is a long-estab-lished Liverpool businessthat once traded from awarehouse just behindTJ Hughes’s LondonRoad store. It has nowtaken ownership of thatstore and intends torevive its fortunes, alongwith three others in East-bourne, Glasgow andSheffield.

Benross will also usethe Lewis’s name at a siteit has already acquired inBury, and it hopes to findsuitable premises in Liv-erpool and elsewhereshortly.

This is a brave andvery enterprising move.

Both TJ Hughes andLewis’s brands havestruggled to attract cus-tomers and trade success-fully in recent years.Whether the Juneja fam-ily are able to succeedwhere others have failedremains to be seen, butyou have to give themcredit for their faith inthese traditional brands.

Certainly, there areplenty of examples of dis-count retailers that arethriving. I anticipate thatboth brands will need tobe treated carefully andrealism shown aboutwhere they can trade suc-cessfully. TJ’s problemswere probably associatedwith an over-ambitiousexpansion plan that sawthe group open stores inparts of the countrywhere it was previouslyunknown. While thesebrands may well tradesuccessfully on theirhome turf, I am not surethey will travel well – butwe wish them all thebest.

BillGleeson

‘It’saverypositivemessagefor thesite’


New era for Stanlow refinery

Indian conglomerate withgrowing global footprint

Essar Energy’s chief executive, Naresh Nayyar – we plan toinvest $100m a year in health, safety and environment workat Stanlow Code: jr010811stanlow-13

the big feature

He added: “Essar Energy has a statedvision that we want to have operatingcapacity of 1m barrels per day. The Stan-low acquisition is a big step towards thatdirection.

“With that capacity and this acquis-ition, and with the completion of ourexpanded refinery at Vadinar (in India),we’ll come to nearly 800,000 bar-rels per day.”

Mr Nayyar said economic con-ditions would determine whenEssar will start importing oil toStanlow from Vadinar, thoughhe said imports could start inthe next Indian monsoon seasonwhen domestic demand falls.

Mr Willsdon hopes staff fromthe “mature” refinery at Stan-low will be able to learn from Essar’snewer refinery at Vadinar, while Indianstaff could also benefit from sharing inStanlow’s experience.

In its heyday, Stanlow employed thous-ands. Today it employs around 950 people,with another 500 to 1,000 contractors onsite at any one time.

From the roof of the administrationblock, at the heart of the complex, a webof pipelines, towers and chimneys

stretches for hundreds of metres in eachdirection. Stanlow is, the proud guidetold watching photographers, “the size of300 full-size football pitches”.

The site is a huge investment for Essar– and it comes at a time when other com-panies are reducing their capacity.

Total last year announced it was clos-ing its refinery in Dunkirk,France, while Petroplus endedits refining operations inTeesside in 2009.

But Mr Nayyar and the Essarteam are clearly optimisticabout the refinery’s prospects –particularly once the economypicks up again.

Mr Nayyar said Essarplanned ultimately to use Stan-

low as a beachhead to launch into thecontinental European market.

He added: “But our focus is that weneed to maximise our sales to thedomestic market.”

With Essar’s ambitious plans for itsnewly-acquired Cheshire site, it lookslike Stanlow will be a feature of the Mer-sey landscape – and an inspiration toNorth West musicians – for many yearsto come.

THE Essar Group was foundedin 1969 as a construction com-pany and has become one ofIndia’s industrial powerhouses.

Essar describes itself as “amultinational conglomerateand a leading player in the sec-tors of steel, oil and gas, power,communications, shipping,ports and logistics, projects andminerals”.

Today it has revenues of$20bn and employs some70,000 people across 25 coun-tries.

Essar Energy, which thisweek completed its takeover ofthe Stanlow refinery, inEllesmere Port, includes thegroup’s oil and power divisions.

That business was floated inLondon in 2010 in what thegroup says was thesecond-largest IPO floated by acompany of Indian origin.

Essar Energy’s assets includethe Vadinar refinery in Gujarat,as well as a 50% stake in arefinery in Kenya. The grouphas oil exploration rights inAsia, Africa and Australia.

Meanwhile, Essar Energy hasmore than 1,380 retail outletsacross India, with another 150under construction.

Essar Group’s Steel divisionincludes a 10m-tonne plant inHazira, Gujarat – the largest ofits kind in western India.

It also owns a 500,000-tonneprocessing plant in Dudley,West Midlands.

Essar’s Minerals arm includesiron ore mines in India and Min-nesota, USA, along with coalmines in India, Indonesia,Mozambique and the USA.

It has access to more than1.6m tonnes of iron orereserves and 450m tonnes ofcoal reserves.

Essar’s communications armhas more than 135m sub-scribers in India and Africa.

It has a 33% stake in Voda-fone Essar, a joint venture withthe UK communications giant.

Essar also owns India’slargest telecoms retail network,with more than 1,000 units ofThe Mobile Store throughoutIndia.

‘Wewillworkwithmanagersto improveefficiency’

privatebusiness

ENGINEERING firmDaniel Contractors justmanaged to stay in theblack despite anothertough year.

The Warrington com-pany, which providesservices to utilities andcivil engineering firms,saw turnover fall 3.5%to £137m in the year toSeptember, 2010,thanks in part to thecancellation of a majorcontract.

Accounts recentlyfiled at CompaniesHouse showed Danielreported a pre-taxprofit of £12,000 – downfrom £1.04m in 2009.

Chief executiveAndrew Ball said thefall in profits was duein part to a revaluingof the outcome of twolarge ongoing energy-related contracts.

He said: “During theyear, the businesssuffered from the can-cellation of a majorconstruction contractwhich had an adverseimpact in turnover,though receipt of con-tract cancellationinsurance negated theimpact on profit.

“In view of the pre-vailing economic cond-itions in the UK, thedirectors felt it neces-sary to make signific-ant reductions in thecost base. The fullimpact of those actionswill be seen in the nextfinancial year.”

Daniel’s utilitiesbusiness saw workvolumes fall slightly aswater firms adjusted toa new legal framework.

Mr Ball said: “We areconfident this down-turn is only temporaryand that volumes inthis sector will recoverin 2011.”

Discussing Daniel’senergy division, MrBall said: “Despite theprudent view taken ontwo large contracts inthis sector, we remainconfident of achievingsatisfactory outcomes.”

He added: “Consider-ing the prevailing con-ditions in the UK eco-nomy and uncertain-ties in the world com-modity markets, thedirectors are satisfiedwith the performanceof the business andremain confident forthe future.”

ALISTAIR HOUGHTON

Engineerupbeatdespiteprofit fall

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Qinetiq saysmarkets are‘challenging’HI-TECH weaponsmaker Qinetiq saidthe UK and US milit-ary markets remainchallenging as Gov-ernment spendingcomes under pressure.

The UK especiallycontinues to beimpacted by contractdelays and cancel-lations from the Min-istry of Defence, butcost cutting will helpit meet expectationsthis year.

Bumper firsthalf for LVMUTUALLY-OWNEDpensions and insur-ance group LV saw abumper first half as575,000 more motor-ists took out policies.

Profits rose by 51%,to £53m, as claimsand expenses as aproportion of pre-miums fell to 98.1%,from 101.9%.

Profits riseCOAL-FIRED powerstation operator Draxlifted first-half profitsby 28% as it cashed inon forward salesmade in previousyears.

These will be less ofa benefit in thesecond half andunderlying profits forthe full year will belower than 2010.

Footfall upCAPITAL Shopping,the new owner of theTrafford Centre, inManchester, saw netrental income rise by6% over the past sixmonths.

Footfall growth wasup 3% while the Traf-ford Centre, whichCapital bought des-pite objections frommajor shareholderSimon Property, sawfootfall rise 8%.

briefing IMFwarnsUK:Bepreparedforrethinkoverfiscalpolicy

The Bank of England may need to introduce more quantitative easing, says the latest IMF reportPicture: STEFAN ROUSSEAU



BRITAIN will have a “bumpy anduneven recovery” and ministers mustbe ready to change economic policy ifgrowth and inflation do not develop asthey hope, the International MonetaryFund has warned.

In an assessment of the state of theUK economy, the IMF gave its backingto the Government’s policy of “fiscalconsolidation” to cut the deficitthrough tax hikes and spending cuts,backed by low interest rates set by theBank of England.

But the international finance bodywarned that the growth outlook was“subject to considerable uncertain-ties”, and predicted a GDP hike of just1.5% this year and 2.5% in 2012 –slightly below the 1.7% in 2011 and2.5% for 2012 forecast by the Office forBudget Responsibility at the time ofGeorge Osborne’s Budget in March.

Weaker-than-expected growth mightrequire the Government to adopt“looser macro-economic policies” suchas tax cuts to stimulate demand, whilethe Bank launches a fresh round ofquantitative easing – effectively print-ing money – said the IMF.

However, the Bank must be ready tointervene to dampen demand byincreasing interest rates from theirrecord low of 0.5% if there are signsinflation is taking off, said the report.

Inflation can be expected to remain“well above 4%” for the remainder of2011, before declining to near the Gov-ernment’s 2% target by the end of nextyear, it added.

The directors of the IMF “considerthe current mix of accommodativemonetary and tight fiscal policy to beappropriate”, said the report.

But it added: “Directors noted thatthe growth outlook is subject to con-siderable uncertainties.

“They agreed that policies may needto adjust in the event of a change inmacro-economic conditions.

“In particular, if growth and inflat-ion surprise on the upside, monetarytightening would need to accelerate.

“Conversely, mounting evidence thatweak demand is likely to cause theeconomy to stall and enter a period ofprolonged low growth would call forlooser macro-economic policies.”

The deputy director of the IMF’sEuropean Department, Ajai Chopra,said that the most likely scenario for

the UK economy is a gradual recovery,with continued “headwinds” due to thesluggish housing market, Governmentbelt-tightening and businesses andindividuals paying off their debts.

But, writing in a national newspa-per, Mr Chopra said that another pos-sible scenario could see “a prolongedperiod of weak growth, high unem-ployment, and subdued inflation”.

“Currently, we don’t expect thisscenario to happen,” he said. “But ifsuch a scenario appears to be in pro-spect, we recommend respondingquickly with some combination of fur-ther quantitative easing by the Bank ofEngland and temporary tax cuts.”

Mr Chopra wrote: “The IMF isexpecting a bumpy and uneven recov-

ery in the UK. Over the medium term,we expect growth to accelerate grad-ually to about 2.5%.

“But volatile commodity prices, theuncertain magnitude of fiscal head-winds, and problems in the eurozonehave added a lot of uncertainty to thisoutlook. It’s not easy to steer a clearcourse in such circumstances.”

Shadow Treasury minister DavidHanson said the IMF report demon-strated that the coalition’s economicplans were damaging growth.

He told Sky News: “We do need totackle the deficit, but we need to do itin a way that is slower, more paced andless damaging to the economy than thecurrent Government’s proposals are.

“The Government is spending

already this year £46bn more than theyplanned because of the rising cost ofunemployment.

“What we need to do is look at howwe stimulate jobs and stimulategrowth, and that means looking at notjust the pace and scale of cuts but alsothe range of issues to do with VAT andgetting people shopping.”

But Conservative Party deputychairman Michael Fallon said thereport heaped “further embarrass-ment” on shadow chancellor Ed Balls.

“Another of the world’s most respec-ted institutions has confirmed thatLabour’s failure to regulate the bankshelped cause the financial crisis, lead-ing to the biggest bust on record,” hesaid.

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Think-tank urges fresh approach as growth forecasts cut

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A LEADING think-tankhas urged the Chancel-lor to revise his deficit-busting measures aftermaking another cut toits forecast for UKgrowth.

The National Instituteof Economic and SocialResearch (NIESR)expects GDP to rise by1.3% in 2011, its seconddownward revision this

year as consumerspending falls by morethan previouslythought.

In its last forecast inMay, it predictedgrowth of 1.4%, but itsaid today that weakerspending will “hinderany meaningful recov-ery” this year.

NIESR today repeatedits call for “a modest

loosening in fiscalpolicy” to improve pro-spects for output andemployment.

Shadow chancellor EdBalls has recently crit-icised the Governmentfor cutting too far andtoo fast, and has calledfor VAT to be reducedback to 17.5%.

NIESR believes Chan-cellor George Osborne is

set to miss his target ofeliminating the budgetdeficit by 2015/16 as taxrevenues are hit by theweaker spending andgrowth.

But it said he couldloosen policy in thenear-term to stimulategrowth without losingcredibility, and wouldstill have time to nar-row the gap. Ed Balls

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Barclaysbosswarnsofmorejobcutstocome

Barclays’ Bob Diamond says cost cutting is necessary to meet thebank’s targets Picture: DOMINIC LIPINSKI

Shoppricesfallasconsumersswitchtobargains

PromotionshelpCarpetright Watertakeover

HOUSEHOLD incomes con-tinued to be squeezed lastmonth, after figures yesterdayshowed food bills remainedmore than 5% higher thanlast year.

The British Retail Consor-tium (BRC) said overall shopprice inflation slowed margin-ally to 2.8% in July, from 2.9%in June, while food inflationfell to 5.2% from 5.7%.

But the easing in food billswas largely due to retailersslashing prices to draw incash-strapped consumers,with 39% of all groceriesbought in supermarkets sub-ject to special offers.

Food costs edged down asgood crops of seasonal freshfruit and vegetables helpedboost supplies and cheaperanimal feed eased pressure on

meat prices, the BRC added.Stephen Robertson, BRC dir-ector general, said: “The fallin overall shop price inflationcame almost entirely fromfood.”

He added: “Customers haveadapted their shopping habitsto higher levels of inflationover the last few months.

“People are increasinglytaking advantage of promot-

ions to help mitigate againstthe full impact of inflation.”

Non-food inflation – any-thing from clothing to elec-tricals – was unchanged inJuly at 1.3%, the BRC said.

The effect of January’s risein VAT, the impact of pastrises in key commodities con-tinuing to feed through toconsumer prices, and importinflation from the weakening

of sterling and rise in pricesin China, are still puttingpressure on shop prices, theBRC added.

Looking ahead, the BRCsaid many analysts expectedlittle relief for food inflationas grain prices were likely toremain elevated until the endof this year. Weather will playa vital role in the outlook forcrop prices.

FLOOR coverings firm Carpet-right yesterday said it requireda major promotional drive tokeep UK sales flat on a yearearlier.

The group, which has 514stores in the UK, saidlike-for-like sales were 0.2%

lower in the 12 weeks to July23, although the run of dis-counting meant its profitsmargin was two percentagepoints lower than a yearearlier.

Lord Harris, Carpetright’schairman and a veteran of the

retail sector with more than 50years’ experience, said the fig-ure represented an improvedtrend on the previous quarter,helped by “strong promotionalactivity”. However, he warnedconsumer demand acrossEurope remained subdued.

ANOTHER chunk of the UK’s infrastructurepassed into foreign hands yesterday, afterNorthumbrian Water agreed to a £2.4bn takeoverby a Hong Kong-based investment firm.Shareholders in Northumbrian, which supplies2.6m people in the North East and 1.8m throughEssex & Suffolk Water, will receive 465p pershare from Cheung Kong Infrastructure.

THE boss of banking giant Barclayssaid yesterday that staff levels couldbe cut by around 3,000 this year as joblosses in the industry continue tomount.

Barclays, which has 56,900 staff inthe UK, has reduced its headcount by1,400 so far this year across the groupand this trend will continue andincrease, chief executive Bob Diamondsaid.

The warning came as Barclaysreported a 33% drop in profits to£2.6bn, after it took a £1bn hit to covercompensation for customers who weremis-sold payment protection insur-ance.

But the group’s underlying perform-ance – stripping out the PPI provision– revealed profit growth, and the bankis on target to meet its business lend-ing targets under the Project Merlinagreement with the Government.

Barclays cost-cutting plans follow inthe footsteps of HSBC, whichannounced on Monday plans to axe30,000 staff, and Lloyds BankingGroup, which in June unveiled plansto shed 15,000 jobs.

Mr Diamond said the cost-cuttingprogramme was necessary for thebank to meet its target of increasingreturns for shareholders – but wouldnot give specific targets for headcountreduction.

Mr Diamond agreed a net reduction

of 3,000 staff for the full year was pos-sible.

He said proposals to ring-fenceretail and investment banking oper-ations would hurt the UK economy,and in a worst-case scenario couldlead to further job cuts at Barclays.

The Independent Committee onBanking, which releases its full reportnext month, has already indicated itspreference for a ring fence around theUK banks’ retail and investment bank-ing operations, a move expected topush up costs in the UK.

But Mr Diamond said the bank wasoptimistic, and added that it was notin the interest of the commission orthe UK to do anything radical.

Barclays, like HSBC, revealed a bet-ter-than-expected performance. TheCity had been expecting £2.4bn inreported profits.

Stripping out the PPI provision,Barclays would have seen profitsincrease 24% to £3.7bn in the period.

Barclays said it extended £20bn inlending to businesses in the first sixmonths, in line with its £40bn targetfor the full year.

But Mr Diamond said successfulbusinesses lacked confidence to investand were still hoarding their cash,rather than investing.

The group saw reported pre-taxprofits at its retail and business bank-ing division drop 63% to £446m – butthis includes the PPI hit.

The division recorded a slightincrease in the number of UK mort-gage accounts – from 913,000 to 925,000

– as well as a boost to current accountnumbers from 11.4m to 11.7m.

Credit card arm Barclaycard repor-ted adjusted pre-tax profits up 65% to£524m.

The division, which acquired morethan 1m credit card accounts belong-ing to internet bank Egg in March,made a £76m loss on a reported basis,after a £600m PPI provision.

The bank recorded a 41% drop inbad debt charges, to £1.8bn, as a resultof closer management of its risks in

troubled eurozone countries includingSpain and Portugal.

However, its investment bankingdivision, Barclays Capital, saw adecline in both adjusted and reportedpre-tax profits, down 9% to £2.3bn and29% to £2.4bn respectively.

Shares in Barclays, which havefallen 35% over the last year, were upby nearly 1% after the interim reportwas published.

The bank’s shares closed 0.25p downlast night, at 216.75p.

LDPbusiness .co.ukLDPbusiness .co.uk

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Bargainchain toopen ineurozoneBARGAIN chain Pound-land is to expand intothe eurozone, afterannouncing yesterdayplans for a number ofnew stores, starting indebt-ridden Ireland.

The new venture willshun the “Euroland”label – thus avoidingthe impact of pricevolatility in the region– and will instead becalled Dealz.

There are plans forsix stores in Irelandbefore March, in a roll-out set to create 180jobs and £1.7m ininvestment.

Poundland chiefexecutive JimMcCarthy said therewas “an appetite fromIrish consumers for adiscount retailer”.

The company hasexpanded in the UKfrom 263 stores to 347over the last year, asmore middle-class cus-tomers turn to thechain in the tough cli-mate looking for bar-gains.

Its 3,000-strong list ofproducts ranges fromKodak batteries and1.5kg packs of sugarthrough to readingglasses, tents andChristmas lights – allfor £1.

Dealz will havegreater price controlwithout associatingitself directly with theeuro.

Mr McCarthy said:“Finding a Europeanbrand name for anestablished UK brandwas no easy task. It wasimportant to ensure wedecided on a brandname that was going toresonate with ourRepublic of Ireland cus-tomers and in thefuture, enabling us toexpand the brand inmainland Europe.”

For News,Sport andBusinesson yourphone

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news


by John Holmes, head ofplanning at Hill Dickinson

LDPbusiness .co.uklocation

viewpoint

byTonyMcDonoughLDPDEPUTYBUSINESSEDITORtony.mcdonough@liverpool.com

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Wemustbeawareofhiddendangers inUKplanningshake-up

MY BROTHER-IN-LAW is a developer(of sorts) and he asked me whatlocalism and neighbourhood plan-ning is all about.

I knew that localism runs the riskof being consigned to his tray thatincludes the Millennium Bug, globalwarming, waste recycling and theApollo Moon Landings as conceptsthat cost money but have no appar-ent value except for true believers(and consultants).

Localism is the cornerstone of theGovernment’s proposal to reform theplanning system and empower localcommunities.

Consultation and local engage-ment at an early stage should pro-duce the kind of development neigh-bourhoods want.

It is hoped it will lead to an end tothe Government introducing

top-down targets. Planning officerswill not be able to refuse to meetapplicants to discuss applications,although nothing abouthaving to make anappointment 14 days inadvance and only on aThursday between 3 and4pm.

Parish/town councils (or,if they don’t exist, localcommunity groups) willhave the power to apply forneighbourhood develop-ment plans setting outdevelopment policy and neighbour-hood development orders grantingplanning permission.

Anyone can set up a localcommunity group, handy for thosepropping up the bar in the Vat and

Fiddle who like to put theworld to rights over a pint.

Unsurprisingly, while theLocalism Bill has beenwidely welcomed,neighbourhood planninghas attracted the mostcriticism, with a risk ofNimbyism and given theabandonment of regionalstrategy and a newly-pro-posed national planning

policy framework.One peer of the realm recently

commented that they would:

“Recruit like-minded neighbours andmake sure that we had no additionalhousing in the neighbourhood andwould shift the issue onto other vil-lages that were not so quick off thestarting blocks”.

And therein lies the danger, thatthe system becomes one of “can’t do”rather than “can do”.

Or it may follow the “banana”policy – build absolutely nothinganywhere near anything.

As my bother-in-law said when I’dexplained: “Who’s going to want thewaste incinerator?”

The Localism Bill is going throughthe House of Lords and is expected tobecome law in November.

ShuttleservicereviewA SHUTTLE bus serviceprovided by a businesspark is to be expandedfollowing a surge inpeople using it.

Lingley Mere Busi-ness Park, in Warring-ton, has seen a 42%increase in take-up inthe past 12 months.

United Utilities andMuse Developments –joint venture partnersat the park – will carryout a full review of thecurrent shuttle bus ser-vice, which has nowreached full capacity.

The free service,which operatesbetween WarringtonTown Centre andLingley Mere, waslaunched in October,2007, and offers sevenpick-ups per day.

Robin Uttley, head ofcommercial property atUnited Utilities Prop-erty Services, said: “It’sour goal to reducesingle-occupancy caruse to, from andaround Lingley MereBusiness Park.”

Retailsector isdrivingUKindustrial lettingsmarket

CottonExchangeunveils£400,000receptionareaLIVERPOOL’S CottonExchange has unveiled anew £400,000 receptionentrance.

The entrance, in BixtethStreet, was refurbished byowner company Bruntwood.

The reception will wel-come the 48 businesses cur-rently located in the GradeII-listed building.

Bruntwood’s refurbish-ment works included reloc-ating the reception area, aswell as unlocking many ofthe building’s period feat-ures, including the restorat-ion of the original internaldomes.

Colin Forshaw, head ofsales at the firm, said: “TheCotton Exchange is one ofthe city’s most iconic officebuildings and it now has areception area befitting ofits stature.

“When we embarked onthe refurbishment works, wewanted to give the building areal heart and have suc-ceeded in creating a contem-porary focal point that issympathetic to the CottonExchange’s architecture.

“We will continue toinvest in the building andmaintain its place as one ofLiverpool’s most sought-after office addresses.”Bruntwood has spent £400,000 on the new reception area, on the Bixteth Street side of the building

‘Dangerthesystembecomesoneofcan’tdo’

DEMAND for industrial space in theNorth West and across the UKremains “robust”, according to a newreport.

The CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) H1Logistics Report, reveals that 10.39msq ft was let across the country duringthe first half of the year.

The North West accounted for 12%of this total, with the 360,000 sq ft DHLletting at G.Park, in Liverpool, being

one of 2011’s most notable transac-tions so far.

The study says that the availabilityof units of 100,000 sq ft and abovedecreased during the first half of theyear, and now stands at 31.2m sq ft.

The UK now has just two existingbuildings able to accommodate arequirement of over 500,000 sq ft, withdesign and build transactions likely tobecome more prevalent in the marketas a result.

Retailers once again dominated thelogistics market, accounting for 50%of take-up, and investors are keen tosecure these opportunities.

One particularly noteworthyexample is REEF’s acquisition of B&MBargains’ building, in Liverpool.

However, despite strong retailtake-up, the report says that the out-look for consumer spending could leadto weakening demand later in theyear.

Although H1 experienced a declinein total investment purchases of dis-tribution warehouses, total invest-ment activity is in line with the10-year average. There has been agrowing interest in assets providing ashort-term income stream.

Rehan Zaman, director of Capital

Markets at CBRE North West, said:“Investment activity has very muchbeen focused on core, mainstream loc-ations, although no single region hasdominated overall purchasing activity.

“In terms of where investment iscoming from, UK institutions andoverseas investors were responsiblefor the bulk of money invested in thesector so far this year.

“Investment demand has beenincreasingly polarised, with investorinterest focused on the prime end ofthe market, invariably for assets withunexpired lease terms of 15 years andabove.”

INDUSTRIAL UNITS To Let.South L’pool 500 to 4000 sqft,monthly tenancy, competitiverents. From £50pw Tel: 0151427 5051

UNITS TO LET 5,000−15,000sqft. Initial Rent free period.0151 486 0004

Commercial Premises

BUSINESSto BUSINESS

WEST DERBY ROAD3 Business UnitsFor Sale or rent990sq.ft – 1845 sq.ft

Well located nearTuebrook market Secure,Suitable for variety of

usesTo let from £87/pw

For sale from £59,950F/hold

Tel: 0151 647 2357




[email protected]

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New homefor cameracompanyVEHICLE camerasystems supplier VisionUK has moved intopremises in Frodsham.

The firm, which pro-duces reversing,rear-view and CCTVcameras for vehicles,had outgrown its pre-vious offices in Chesterand has taken threeoffices and a warehouseat Frodsham BusinessCentre.

Rick Trehearne, man-aging director of VisionUK, said: “Our businesshas grown massively inthe last two yearsbecause transport firmsand other businesseswith vehicles realise theimportance of protect-ing drivers with evid-ence against fraudulentroad accident insuranceclaims.

“We chose to come toFrodsham because wewere already based nottoo far away, and thebusiness centre hereprovided us witheverything we needed.”

CashbuyershelpVenmoreraise£1.6matcityauction

Rob Farnham, of Venmore – says cash investors a key to sales

PROPERTY group Venmore hasraised more than £1.6m from itslatest Liverpool auction.

The total – £1.667m – includesboth those properties sold in theauction room and those sold beforeand after.

The event, at the Hilton Hotel, inLiverpool One, offered 47 propertieswith 10 lots sold before and after theauction.

Despite the current difficulties inraising bank finance, a number ofthe lots sold above their guide price.

Venmore chief executive RobFarnham said: “We sold 55% of ourlots this month – two of theseincluded lots 2 and 41, which bothsold for £13,000 over guide price.

“The real best seller of the day, avacant three-bed detached propertyin the Woolton area, sold for£231,000 – £56,000 more than guideprice.”

The Venmore auction came aweek after rival Sutton Kersh’s

latest event, which generatedreceipts of more than £2m.

Mr Farnham added: “There werea number of cash investors in theauction room who were fund-amental in generating some compet-itive bidding.

“However, we would encouragewould-be investors to talk to usabout the changing nature of fin-ance available. Representatives fromBridging Finance companies areconfident that most lots offered canget funding.”

Following the Sutton Kersh auc-tion at the Marriott Hotel, in thecity centre, the firm’s auction man-ager, Cathy Holt, said: “After speak-ing to a number of investors in theroom, it is clear funding is still aproblem.”

She added that investors wereseeking higher returns from prop-erties and this was having an effecton sales at auction.

“Investors are looking for cheapproperties with a minimum of 10%return on their investment.”

Venmore’s next auction will takeplace on September 14.

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OFFICES FOR1 PERSON...OR HUNDREDS


LondonStockMarketatClose

Last night, the pound was worth: $1.6275 (down 0.0016) .........1.1457 euros (up 0.0016) ......... 119.66 yen (down 1.73)..........Its trade weighted index was 79.40 (up 0.10)Metals in $ per troy ounce: Gold 1637.75 (up 14.75)........................ Silver 39.73 (up 0.42) ........................Platinum 1793 (down 5) ........................ UK base lending rate 0.5%

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 51 Adv Medical 7418 -138 -12

1812 3 AEA Technology 3 -12 -12

28712 245 Albany Inv Tst 270 +112 -4

1251 84812 AMEC 1031 -23 -73

92 2334 Anglesey Mining 5514 -34 -734

35714 23458 Balfour Beatty 28278 -1038 -23

3912 2914 Beale 3434 -14

612 501 Compass Gp 56012 xd -912 -23

1258 534 Coral Prod 11

1265 99712 Dee Valley 1265 xd +20

479 301 easyJet 34278 -2118 -3338

1030 72312 JD Sports Fashion 930 xd -812 -65

135 1112 JJB Sports 20 -34 -2

36 1534 Johnson Serv 3518 -18 +18

579 410 Nichols 54214 +214 -234

14912 95 NWF 141 -5 -6

50 2112 Park Gp 4112 -12 -212

1257 815 Rathbone 1110 -40 -43

139 9712 Redrow 12838 -158 -158

14312 12018 RSA Insurance 12714 -4 -534

34 1914 Speedy Hire 2912 xd -12 -234

4634 3412 Sportech 3912 -158 -112

4634 2514 Telme Gp 4612 xd -14 +2

5514 3234 UK Coal 41 +12 -1

2 78 Ultima 118

2065 1688 Unilever 1935 +5 -56

63112 54312 Utd Utils 591 xd +612 -812

UNIT TRUSTS

DAILY POST REGIONAL INDEX 1194.25 down 14.02 ▼ 1.16%

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% ............ £56732

Conversions

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

Treasury

£61 £50 Tr 212%....................£5612 +112

£1151932 £10734 Tr 9% 12.............. £108532

£1062332 £10258 Tr 5% 12................£10258 -116

£121516 £115716 Tr 8% 13................£11512 -132

£114332 £109532 Tr 5% 14.............. £112316 +132

£111332 £105732 Tr 734% 12-15........£10614

£340116 £30814 Tr 212% IL 16 ....... £340116 +1332

£142316 £1322132 Tr 834% 17.......... £1381516 -532

£147132 £1332732 Tr 8% 21................£14558 +1532

War

£8334 £6712 War Ln 312%............£7612 +2732

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.

Feb 2, 2011 Aug 2, 2011BARCLAYS

Share price (pence)

200

235

270

305

340FTSE-Rebased

£ ABROAD

Australia dollars 1.42 1.500 1.505

Canada dollars 1.48 1.562 1.564

Denmark krone 8.13 8.529 8.539

European Union euro 1.09 1.145 1.146

Japan yen 119.66 125.440 125.540

New Zealand dollars 1.73 1.866 1.871

Norway krone 8.34 8.797 8.798

Poland zlotys 4.03 4.602 4.610

Sweden krona 9.81 10.351 10.361

Switzerland francs 1.21 1.256 1.257

Turkey new lira 2.61 2.771 2.781

United States dollars 1.55 1.627 1.628

Cancel Bid Offer Yield

Fund Terms Price Price Gross

FIDELITY INVESTMENT SERVS

Amer Spec Sits - 582.70 -

American - 1749.00 0.32

Gwth & Inc - 311.60 1.75

Income Plus - 199.70 4.36

Japan - 232.20 0.50

Jpan Spec Sits - 141.80 0.09

Spec Sits - 1851.00 0.01

Sth East Asia - 755.90 0.01

GARTMORE FUND MANAGERS

Euro Sel Opps - 851.41 1.12

Income - 202.88 4.03

Pratical Inv -158.55 169.72 4.36

GUARDIAN

Index-Linked Acc -527.26 555.01 -

International Acc -989.57 1041.66 -

Pacific Acc -262.32 276.13 -

Property Bonds -2016.43 2100.44 -

HSBC INVESTMENT FUNDS (UK)

Balanced - 102.00 1.15

British -257.60 257.60 2.67

Gilt & FI - 65.16 3.20

Gilt & Fixed -230.20 230.20 6.17

Monthly Inc - 129.80 4.11

HENDERSON HORIZON FUND

European Smllr Cos A - 962.80 0.13

Sterling Bd Unit Tst - 54.40 56.83 4.46

UK Equity Inc A - 442.20 3.16

HILL SAMUEL UNIT TST MGRS

Capital -304.92 317.13 1.10

European - 778.90 0.70

Far East - 532.10 1.80

Inc & Gwth - 193.70 3.40

International - 411.40 0.40

North Amer Acc - 452.90 0.10

INVESCO FUND MANAGERS

Sing ASEAN - 214.63 0.39

High Low Funds Price Var

Closing Indices

FT-SE 100 INDEX 5718.39down 56.04 ▼ 0.97%

20 DAY MOVINGAVERAGE 5878.38down 15.28 ▼ 0.26%

FT ALL-SHARE 2970.21down 34.20 ▼ 1.14%

Aerospace & Defence

Index 3175.34 ▼ 68.92

324 109 Avon Rbbr 275 -4

36978 289 BAE Systems 289 -6

73612 51958 Chemring 52812xd-1712

24558 18834 Cobham 18834 -534

39758 26134 Meggitt 37614 -1014

665 552 Rolls-Royce 63312 -1212

19058 11114 Senior 18312 -212

Automobiles & Parts

Index 5073.60 ▼ 250.18

245 13558 GKN 217 -1034

Banks

Index 4136.29 ▼ 2.76

33978 20758 Barclays 21634 -14

861 590 Bco Santander 590 -1714

73078 59114 HSBC 61018 +258

7578 812 Ireland 878 -14

7758 40 Lloyds Banking40 -114

5218 33 Ryl Scotland 3338 -34

1959 1519 Stan Chart 1554 +3

Beverages

Index 9665.47 ▼ 51.21

1395 1035 Barr (AG) 1226 -5

50312 33334 Britvic 33334 -1014

1307 1050 Diageo 1227 -10

2340 1841 SABMiller 227512 -3

Chemicals

Index 7299.48 ▼ 125.96

2081 1230 Croda 1893 +10

18738 82 Elementis 15912 -112

2119 1550 Johnsn Mat 1968xd -55

Construction & Materials

Index 3527.31 ▼ 119.09

35714 23458 Balfour Beatty 28278 -1038

265 19012 Costain 210 +1

148314102218CRH 1102 -1658

1418 970 Kier Group 1280 -35

7634 35 Low Bonar 7414 -1

12412 8514 Marshalls 109

Electricity

Index 8159.11 ▲ 11.97

535 35358 Drax Gp 52912 +12

44858 299 Intl Power 303 -34

1423 1108 Scot&Sthrn 1290xd +2

Electronic & Electrical

Index 3149.68 ▼ 124.02

705 440 Domino Ptg 643 xd -10

207 12118 Laird 161 +114

35718 18918 Morgn Cru 31214 -1038

1010 335 Oxford Inst 1010 +2

377 23212 Volex Gp 29812xd-1312

Equity Inv Instruments

Index 5900.60 ▼ 57.69

39234 30758 Alliance 36612 -412

14012 11514 Br Assets 12858 -138

777 555 Candover Inv 577 -4

228 18634 Dunedin IncGth 21912 -112

15734 112 Dunedin Sml 157 xd +78

49214 39238 Edin Invst 460 xd -112

66034 538 Edin US Trkr Tst614 -9

32778 26334 Forgn & C 30518 -434

32334 236 Hend Smllr Cos318 -2

385 29518 Law Debenture36958 +138

252 20112 Scot Am 235 -3

533 42618 Witan 494 -4

Fixed Line Telecoms

Index 2362.62 ▼ 12.58

20418 13058 BT Gp 20012 +12

6138 3512 Cble&W Comm 3512 xd -138

7838 3812 Cble&W Wwide 3812 xd -238

84 45 KCOM 8112xd -212

Food & Drug Retailers

Index 4466.22 ▼ 3.39

30814 26234 Morrison W 29114 +314

395 30078 Sainsbury 30078 -78

44058 378 Tesco 380 -78

112 5114 Thorntons 52

Food Producers

Index 5127.95 ▼ 3.91

1182 940 AB Foods 1070 -1

875 55712 Carrs Mill 850 +712

90112 62012 Cranswick 633 xd +1212

42478 33934 Dairy Crest 35718xd -812

3518 16 Premier Foods 17 -18

656 40918 Tate Lyle 590 xd -20

2065 1688 Unilever 1935 +5

Forestry & Paper

Index 6150.45 ▼ 134.64

664 447 Mondi 571 -1212

General Financial

Index 5536.64 ▼ 151.36

340 25418 3i 25878 -358

88812 664 Close Bros 70512 -22

57012 38014 ICAP 43212xd -914

1076 640 London Stk Ex 965 xd -27

1116 72812 Provident 1084 -20

1257 815 Rathbone 1110 -40

1922 1330 Schroders 1636 +1

General Industrials

Index 2988.32 ▼ 56.15

72412 41214 Cooksn Gp 597 -35

1258 534 Coral Prod 11

6 238 Cosalt 212 -14

400 293 Rexam 35334 -958

26614 12534 Smith DS 23112 -134

1429 1089 Smiths Gp 1098 -1

General Retailers

Index 1585.49 ▼ 27.25

2514 1212 Ashley L 1812

31114 221 Brown (N) Gp 27534xd -458

7738 56 Debenhams 6314 -258

2812 1134 Dixons Retail 1314 -12

50412 304 Halfords 304 xd -918

23514 12358 Home Retail 12358 -514

42538 25314 Inchcape 36738 -1134

1030 72312 JD Sports 930 xd -812

28718 19812 Kingfisher 23914 -834

42712 32914 M & S 33558 -312

62712 38112 Mothercare 39734xd -234

2426 1868 Next 2362 +26

2986 1724 Signet Jwlrs 2473 -167

523 39814 WH Smith 50912

Health Care Equip & Serv

Index 3506.80 ▼ 74.80

742 53712 Smith Nph 61512 -14

Household Goods

Index 6500.70 ▼ 85.82

138 74 Aga Rngmstr 10514 -134

119 70 Barratt Dev 9258 -38

75312 511 Bellway 675 +7

192 125 McBride 12614 -34

3648 3015 Reckitt Benck 3394 -53

139 9712 Redrow 12838 -158

4314 2214 Taylor Wimpey 3412 +18

Industrial Engineering

Index 7280.96 ▼ 147.00

39734 21412 Bodycote 36534 -1978

85312 53812 Charter 77412 -24

42212 198 Fenner 37018xd-1934

1119 65712 IMI 99012 -5112

116 4312 Molins 9312 -1

31212 119 MS Intl 26712xd -10

45 2512 Renold 3712 -12

2063 1499 Spirax Srco 1839 -27

2218 1130 Weir Gp 2072 -14

Industrial Transportation

Index 2440.82 ▼ 66.57

24034 175 BBA Aviation 19758 -714

Life Insurance

Index 4051.27 ▼ 100.36

47778 35458 Aviva 38458 -1114

12334 8718 Lgl & Gen 10934 -112

777 547 Prudential 663 -17

31618 21114 Resolution 27314 +114

24434 19012 Standard Life 19012 -434

Media

Index 3976.68 ▼ 40.38

850 692 BSkyB 700 +412

59412 40078 D Mail Tst 40078 -412

9312 4934 ITV 6718 -158

1207 926 Pearson 1176 -4

59012 50512 Reed Elsevier 52912 -9

168 8312 STV Group 124 -238

12414 3934 Trinity Mirror 4012 -134

725 507 Utd Business 518 -1212

151 106 UTV 12114 -34

84612 633 WPP 671 -1512

Mining

Index 24075.37 ▼ 611.03

3437 2254 Anglo Amer 280212 -68

1634 97712 Antofagasta 1328 -52

2631121767 BHP Billiton 221412 -4312

1813 990 Fresnillo 1813 +79

53118 45712 Glencore Intl 45812 -1458

1671 1073 Kazakhmys 1255 -58

1983 1206 Lonmin 1206 -34

6655 4425 Randgold Res 5565 +30

4712 3105 Rio Tinto 4176 -10512

5514 3234 UK Coal 41 +12

Mobile Telecoms

Index 3840.42 ▼ 19.07

74112 507 Inmarsat 507 -2312

18234 14938 Vodafone Gp 169 xd -58

Nonlife Insurance

Index 1521.58 ▼ 68.51

1754 1459 Admiral Grp 1503 -33

193734142158Marsh McL 1781xd

14312 12018 RSA Insurance 12714 -4

Oil & Gas Producers

Index 8321.41 ▼ 107.35

156412100312BG 1413 -22

509 37518 BP 447 -11

49314 35234 Cairn Energy 35234 -1118

535 370 Premier Oil 39338 -1958

2336 1642 Ryl D Shell B 2221 -712

1493 1144 Tullow Oil 1215 -29

Oil Equipment & Services

Index 23845.65 ▼ 545.80

1251 84812 AMEC 1031 -23

Personal Goods

Index 23193.16 ▼ 320.92

1600 82012 Burberry Gp 1450xd -20

409 32012 PZ Cussons 37358 -138

Pharma & Biotechnology

Index 9453.58 ▼ 68.89

3385 280112AstraZeneca 289612 -54

1385 112712GlaxoSmthKln 1359 +512

50 3112 Vernalis 4778 -118

Real Estate

Index 1958.11

35314 28614 Big Yellow Gp 28614 -2

62912 44634 Brit Land 587 xd +5

2954 2300 Daejan Hldgs 2726 -110

445 30734 Gt Portland 40958 -738

885 598 Land Secs 849 -5

33114 26212 SEGRO 29914 -212

Software & Comp Servs

Index 687.98 ▼ 17.42

1857 1271 Autonomy 1624 -40

6312 3734 Emblaze 54 +112

36414 23014 Invensys 29214xd-1118

123 85 Kewill 99 xd -212

14714 10814 Logica 11118 -4

302 23634 Sage 26414 -534

Support Services

Index 4273.92 ▼ 79.09

1812 3 AEA Tech 3 -12

2034 1346 Aggreko 1873 -30

20778 77 Ashtead Gp 13934 -1238

568 36318 Berendsen 53012 -912

801 679 Bunzl 74612 -1712

79412 63512 Capita 71812 -312

85312 54912 De La Rue 779 xd +4

29478 20534 Electrocmps 22112 -714

83312 606 Experian 78812 +12

291 23734 G4S 26618 -214

452 32112 Hyder Cons 42734xd +34

34114 18312 Interserve 33614 +334

550 400 Menzies J 510 -9

34634 18034 Northgate 30218 -134

30834 18214 Prem Farnell 19318 -38

10718 8414 Rentokil 87 -212

12012 79 Smiths News 8114 -214

34 1914 Speedy Hire 2912xd -12

1127 747 Travis & P 827 -10

2261 1223 Wolseley 1684 -61

Tech Hardware & Equip

Index 715.73 ▼ 12.02

651 30534 ARM Hldgs 570 -9

2712 1934 BATM 2014 -14

10234 7112 Psion 7514 -114

16014 12418 Spirent Comms 12818 -158

Tobacco

Index 32240.69 ▲ 305.34

2871 2166 Br Am Tob 285612 +2812

2231 1784 Imperial Tob 2095xd +17

Travel & Leisure

Index 4342.42 ▼ 123.71

3153 2029 Carnival 2029 -65

612 501 Compass Gp 56012xd -912

479 301 easyJet 34278 -2118

12234 5014 Enterprise Inns 5014 -312

41258 31114 FirstGroup 35878xd -3

1598 1073 Go-Ahead Gp 1504 -37

518 398 Greene King 471 -834

430 240 Holidaybreak 430 xd +114

1435 982 Intercontl Htls 1147 -63

285 21278 Intl Cons Airlns 22158 -818

15514 12234 Ladbrokes 14634 -134

11718 92 Marston’s 100 -214

361 25712 Mitchells&Btlrs 25712 -1158

9038 1214 Punch Taverns 1214 -34

15334 10314 Rank Gp 14118 +118

335 226 Restaurant Gp 28438 -518

26812 16034 Stagecoach 24434 -714

20434 6034 Thomas Cook 6034 -314

27178 17814 TUI Travel 18418 -912

1887 1368 Whitbread 1527 -34

Utilities

Index 4573.43 ▲ 53.19

34618 30178 Centrica 30178 -138

1265 99712 Dee Valley 1265xd

63212 52712 National Grid 60212xd +12

73512 560 Pennon Gp 73512 +2112

1517 1288 Severn 1451xd +35

63112 54312 Utd Utils 591 xd +612

AIM

Index 848.04 ▼ 14.71

4958 914 API Gp 4578 -158

1234 178 Armour Gp 218

158 1 Crimson Tide 112

214 112 Dawson Intl 214 +18

838 478 Eckoh 734

135 1112 JJB Sports 20 -34

36 1534 Johnson Serv 3518 -18

86 3034 Man Brnze 4538 +12

12 4 Metalrax 958

550 380 Portmeirion P 49212

17312 55 Redhall Gp 89 -112

6214 1612 Scapa Gp 60 +12

142 99 Swallowfield 11912

9458 67 Uniq 9414 -18

712 520 Young A 69212 -712

Jul 11- Jul 15 Jul 18 - Jul 22 Jul 25 - Jul 29 M T W T F5700

5775

5850

5925

6000

FTSE-100

20-Day Moving Average


businessdiary

LDPbusiness .co.ukmarket comment

LDPbusiness .co.uk

For all the latest local and national business news online, log on to www.ldpbusiness.co.uk

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Thursday, August 4SEFTON Chamberholds its monthly net-work meeting at thePark Hotel, in Nether-ton. It runs from 12noon to 2pm.

Thursday, August 4Freelancers and home-workers who want towork in a different

environment are wel-come to attend thelatest Jelly Liverpoolevent. The co-workingevent, organised by theOpen Labs team, fromLiverpool John MooresUniversity, aims toprovide a friendly, wi-fienabled space wherepeople can escape their

usual working environ-ment.

This month’s eventwill be held at LeafCafe, in Bold Street,from 9am-5pm.For details, visit open-labs.org.uk/jelly/

Wednesday, August 17The Business NetworkLiverpool is holding itsnext event at theAtlantic Tower Hotel,in Chapel Street, from12 noon until 2pm.

It includes a freepre-lunch seminar –Microphones Don’tBite, presented byAlistair Macdonald –and starts at 10.30am.

Thursday, August 18St Helens Chamber ishosting a Meet TheBuyer Day to helpInterserve look forlocal companies towork on its BuildingSchools for the Futureprojects. Interserve is

working on Liverpool’sDe La Salle HighSchool and RainfordTechnology Collegeand has sub-contract-ing opportunities avail-able in areas includinglift maintenance, secur-ity services and skiphire.

The event starts at9am. For details, call01744 742080.

Wednesday, August 31Downtown Liverpool in

Business is holding adebate called The Beau-tiful Game – the Busi-ness of Football onwhether or not footballis now too money-dom-inated and has losttouch with its roots. Onthe panel will be Liv-erpool FC managingdirector, Ian Ayre, andEverton FC chief exec-utive, Robert Elstone.

The venue for thedebate is the Hilton

Hotel, in Liverpool citycentre, from 8.30am to10.30am.

Wednesday, September 7The BioIndustry Assoc-iation (BiA) is holdinga BIO breakfast meet-ing at the MerseyBIOIncubator in Liverpool.

The event is free toattend and open tomembers of the BiA,along with non-mem-bers from start-up com-panies.

FearsstillremainoverUStriple-AcreditratingdespitevoteINVESTORS fear the United Statesmay be headed for a credit ratingsdowngrade, regardless of last night’sSenate vote about a $2.1 trillion pack-age of spending cuts.

Though the bill removes the threatof imminent default by raising thenational debt limit enough to last until2013, its cuts are only about half the$4 trillion in savings that ratings agen-cies Standard & Poor’s and Moody’shave said would be enough to confirmthe country’s triple-A rating with astable outlook.

Adding a sense of immediacy todowngrade anxieties, S&P said inmid-July there was a 50-50chance it would cut US rat-ings in the next three monthsif lawmakers failed to craft ameaningful plan to cut thenation’s deficit.

S&P could downgrade USratings soon after the Bill issigned by President BarackObama, given that the agencywill have all the informationit needs to make a decision.

Such a move would likelycause both US Treasury andstock prices to fall.

“A lot of people are veryconcerned about the potentialfor a downgrade,” said Robert Pavlik,chief market strategist at Banyan Part-ners LLC, in New York.

The House approved the Bill onMonday and Obama was last nightexpected to sign once it passes throughthe Senate.

Adding to the cloud of uncertainty,the other major ratings agencies, FitchRatings and Moody’s Investors Service,

have been less severe than S&P and willawait further developments beforedeciding whether to downgrade the US.

Moody’s has also said the UnitedStates could keep its top-notch creditrating for now, despite the “limited

magnitude” of the defi-cit-reduction plans being dis-cussed in Washington.

But it did warn in a reportthat the confirmation of theAAA credit rating is likely tocome with a negative outlook,meaning there is a risk of adowngrade in the mediumterm.

Even though markets havebeen anticipating a down-grade by S&P, there is a hugeamount of uncertainty abouthow exactly investors wouldreact to the news US Treas-uries were no longer rated

among the world’s safest assets.“There’s been no clear

direction given about how these issueswill ultimately be resolved, which isanother reason the market is con-cerned,” said Kenneth Buckfire, chiefexecutive officer at Miller Buckfire, inNew York.

A downgrade could add up to 0.7percentage points to Treasury debt

yields over time, or $100bn in lostvalue, members of a US securitiesindustry trade group have said.

That said, United States bonds arein constant demand because financialmarkets rely on them a for wide rangeof transactions for everything fromstashing savings to backing loans.

Dismal data pointing to a slowingeconomy and a spreading sovereigndebt crisis in Europe will also keepdemand strong for US Treasury debt.

In the latest economic data, US con-sumer spending fell unexpectedly inJune to post the first decline in nearly

two years as incomes barely rose, thegovernment reported.

A weak reading on manufacturingon Monday underscored growing con-cerns about the economy’s strength.

World stocks hit a one-month low onMonday, and the euro fell broadly asinvestor focus shifted back to weakglobal growth prospects and the eurozone debt crisis.

Concerns that Spain and Italy willbe the next victims of the eurozonecrisis drove benchmark governmentbond yields to 14-year highs.

US President Barack Obama was expected to sign a deal last nightto end the long-running US debt crisis Picture: JIM WATSON

LondonmarketTHE London marketdropped to its lowest levelfor a month yesterday, asfresh worries about thestrength of the US eco-nomy emerged.

Consumer spending inthe US dropped 0.2% inJune, the Commerce De-partment said – its biggestfall for nearly two years.

The figures raised fur-ther doubts about theworld’s biggest economy,unsettling world marketsand helping push the FTSE100 Index down 56 pointsto 5718.4. It was last lowerat the end of June.

The pound was upagainst the euro at 1.14,as the single currencywas hit by fresh debtfears about the ability ofSpain and Italy to pay theinterest on their debts.

Miners were among thestocks worst-hit by freshjitters about the strengthof the global recovery.Kazakhmys fell 58p to1255p, Xstrata was off45.5p at 1235.5p and Ant-ofagasta fell 52p to 1328p.

But Fresnillo buckedthe trend after it morethan doubled first-halfprofits.

Barclays was on therisers board after itreported better-than-expected results. Half-year profits fell 33% to£2.6bn, but underlyingprofits were strongerthan City forecasts.

Investment group Har-greaves Lansdown wasthe leading faller afterthe FSA indicated it wasrevisiting proposedchanges to the rules ononline sales.

The biggest Footsierisers were Fresnillo, up79p at 1813p, SevernTrent, ahead 35p at 1451p,National Grid, up 12p at602.5p, and Morrisons,ahead 3.3p, at 291.2p.

The biggest Footsiefallers were HargreavesLansdown, down 73.5p at506.5p, IntercontinentalHotels, off 63p at 1147p,IMI, down 51.5p at 990.5p,and GKN, off 10.7p, at217p.

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

■ BILL GLEESON: Page 8


MychildrenturneverydayintoaBrouhaha

Giles Agis – oversees the smooth running of the Brouhaha International Festival, in Liverpool

■ WE KNOW many ofthe high-flying exec-

utives reading this rightnow are so busy thatsome days they don’tknow whether they’recoming or going.

Eating healthily is areal challenge. Whowants to plough throughcomplex recipes whenthey’ve spent all day as acorporate tiger?

Well, Prescot-basedcooker manufacturer,Belling, has come upwith the answer – thefirst-ever Twitter recipebook.

Seasoned tweeters willbe aware that the max-imum length of a mes-sage is 140 characters.

So each of the 50recipes in the book is just

140 characters long. Each“twecipe” was crowd-sourced via the socialmedia site and all pro-ceeds will go to the foodcharity, FoodCycle.

It features such delic-ious offerings as hal-loumi kebabs and porkand honey vegetablepastry parcels.

The recipe book wasinspired by Bellingresearch earlier this yearwhich showed DeliaSmith to be Britain’swordiest chef, followed byNigella Lawson andJamie Oliver, above.

Cooking legend MrsBeeton was the most suc-cinct, using just 156words to explain how tomake the perfect roast.

LDPbusiness .co.ukthe back page

tradinggossip

workingday

6am: Even though I come from a work-ing class background in south London,I’m only up at this time because of thefidgeting class – the two kids.

7am: They are kind of organised now,munching on healthy cereals, so I’vegot both eyes on my laptop while mywife looks out for them. My brainworks best in the morning, despite theinterruptions.

8am: With a modicum of writingachieved, I’ve just slightly amendedsome minor detail on the festival pro-gramme for Brouhaha’s journeys intoEurope this autumn. My two boys areoff to school and it’s my duty.

9am: School run over, I’m going tocycle into work. It’s only about 20minutes on the bike, but I ended updoing a Tour De Liverpool on it via allmy appointments.

9.30am: I’m at my desk and alreadylooking at some new acts for futurefestivities.

Since being a teenager, I have been aqualified actor and musician, but thesedays I help thousands find pleasure inmusic, dance and theatre as a director– not quite the same, but it’s their turn.

I’m going to spend the next fewhours on tidying matters following theLiverpool Carnival – very much anadmin morning.

11.30am: I’m going into an interviewwith some broadcast journalists, dis-cussing the arts in Liverpool – a greatpromo for the Brouhaha brand.

12.30pm: I’ve got a meeting with influ-encers within the public and privatesectors talking about future collabor-ations that will take me into lunch-time.

1.30pm: Bearing in mind I need someheadspace, I’m going to get on my bikeand nip to the Quarter from our baseat the CUC for a coffee and a lunch-time chat with a friend who worksnearby.

2.15pm: We’re just running through

media coverage and all the positivefeedback from our social media page.

It is something we’ve been develop-ing as a strategy for the last threeyears.

4pm: We hold a team meeting to agreeon a number of standard admin issuesto resolve following the carnival andthe festival.

5.30pm: It has been a day of meetings.That is uncharacteristic, but it’s allabout organisation, and that is typical.

6pm: I’m home to be greeted/assaultedby two lovely children.

Thankfully they will simmer downin about an hour and a half.

I’ve got more planning to presideover.

8pm: The laptop is still open, with thesounds of summer as an accompan-iment.

10pm: I’m developing cartoon eyelidsso it’s time to stop working. I lay onthe sofa with my wife thinking aboutall the local and international per-formers that have been in Liverpool.Looking forward to a holiday.

GilesAgis isexecutivedirectorofBrouhahaInternational.HehasultimateresponsibilityfortheBrouhahaInternationalFestivalthathas just takenplaceinLiverpool.Thiswashisday

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LDP Business - 3rd August 2011