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BAROMETER UP
▲ An £8.72m ride at Pleasure Beach Resort has opened to the public, becoming the tallest ride of its kind in the UK. Avitkas launches passengers 138ft into the air while reaching angles of up to 120 degrees.
▲ Manufacturing leaders from Lancashire are helping steer a £2.5m programme supporting North West SMEs to adopt AI, automation and digital technologies. Iain Minton, technology capability delivery director at BAE Systems, and Deyrick Allen, of Sustainable Smart Technologies, have joined the industry steering group for Made Smarter North West’s technology adoption programme.
▲ Construction has begun on Blackpool and The Fylde College’s new Multiversity campus, a major town centre development expected to bring 3,000 students, apprentices and staff into Blackpool by 2028. The 115,000 sq ft campus will create a new learning hub in the town centre, offering more than 70 courses across further education, higher education and adult learning.
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▲ Blackburn’s Ainsworth Jewellers has been named as a finalist in the ‘Independent Retailer of the Year’ category at the prestigious Professional Jeweller Awards 2026. The nomination recognises a remarkable year for the fifth-generation family business, which has successfully combined more than 155 years of heritage with ambitious innovation and growth.
▲ Chiptech has signed a distribution agreement with Norwegian health technology company Hepro Care. The Lancaster headquartered provider of technology-enabled care and social alarm solutions said the agreement will support the delivery of digital care solutions across the Nordic region.
▲ A programme designed by Blackburn entrepreneur Mo Isap to prevent young people from falling into the not in education, employment or training (NEET) category has been backed by the government. The pilot scheme will launch this summer and will create a clear pathway for 16-year-olds toward guaranteed employment as digital apprentices. The pilot, led by Mo’s IN4 Group, will begin with 60 young people aged 16 at risk of becoming NEET.
▲ Accrington fashion brand CAPO and Preston car sales firm
Car.co.uk have been named in the Sunday Times 100 list of the UK’s fastest- growing private companies. CAPO was ranked fifth in the North West and 37th nationally, while
Car.co.uk placed 12th in the region and 85th nationally. The annual rankings recognise the private companies achieving the strongest sales growth across the UK.
▲ Rawtenstall-based Viva has been named PR Agency of the Year at the Prolific North Champions Awards 2026. The agency also won B2B PR Campaign of the Year for its work with CoolKit.
▲ The Northern Community Bank has opened its new £2.5m headquarters in Burnley. The bank, which operates across east Lancashire, Preston and Lancaster, has moved into its new home on Manchester Road. Previously known as Pennine Community Credit Union, the organisation has relocated to the former Brun Lea pub, later operated by Wetherspoons, which closed in 2019.
▲ Kirkham based Warden Construction has reported a record year. Warden’s 2025 financial results show revenue was up by 15 per cent to £30.6m, the highest in the company’s history. It also saw its gross profit rise by 20 per cent to £5.4m.
▲ Darwen headquartered engineering and fabrication specialist the WEC Group is continuing its sustained period of growth, with employee numbers rising from around 900 to more than 1,100 in the past 12 months. The business has made significant investments including the new £10m heavy machining and nuclear fabrication facility in Lancashire and has also invested £1m on machinery in the past 18 months.
▲ Doug Crampton, chef patron of Eight at Gazegill in Rimington, has been named as Marketing Lancashire’s newest Taste Lancashire Ambassador. The appointment comes after a successful year for Eight at Gazegill,
which earned a Green Michelin Star and two Lancashire Tourism Awards.
▲ Plans for a new community stadium in Cumbria drawn up by Preston based construction developers FWP, the creative force behind some of the UK’s most innovative sports projects, have been given the go ahead. The £17.8m Cumberland Sports Village (CSV) project is set to deliver a modern home for Workington’s football and rugby league clubs.
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