BAROMETER
IN ASSOCIATION WITH: UP
£98.8m. The AIM-listed business has earned success in recent years with a focus on helping customers to transition to net-zero and manage their response to climate change. For the year ended December 31, 2023, adjusted profit before tax increased by 13 per cent to £15.8m.
▲ The government has announced a nine-figure funding boost to Lancashire, with Blackpool set to receive £90m and £20m going to Blackburn while Rawtenstall is in line for up to £20m of support. Blackpool’s funds are sourced from Homes England’s Brownfield Infrastructure Land Fund programme and will spur vital regeneration projects in some of the resort’s most deprived areas. Blackburn will allocate £8m to renovate King George’s Hall, with additional investment in Tony’s Ballroom, The Exchange and Imperial Mill. The Masterplan for Rawtenstall by Rossendale Council has seen it selected as one of 20 towns set to receive endowment-style funding and support over the next 10 years.
▲ Two anticipated tourism and leisure attractions have opened in Blackpool. Showtown, a museum dedicated to telling the history of the town as a popular seaside resort and home of entertainment, and the Backlot Cinema and Diner, which houses the county’s first IMAX screen, are now open to the public.
▲ Filming has begun on the sequel to Bank of Dave, the Netflix film which covered Burnley entrepreneur David Fishwick’s fight against high street banks. In the follow-up, Dave (played once again by Rory Kinnear) will recruit Jessica (played by Chrissy Metz), an American investigative reporter, and Oliver (played by Amit Shah), a local Citizen’s Advice counsellor, to take on payday lenders. Bank of Dave: The Sequel is currently in production across Burnley, Leeds and Huddersfield.
▲ Chorley-based essential life safety products and lighting specialist Hispec has increased revenues from £4m to £20m over the last five years. Since 2019, the business has doubled its product portfolio from 200 to 400 items while its workforce has grown from 13 to 26. It was named as one of the fastest growing UK companies in 2023.
▲ Longridge-based Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses has acquired Hampshire Cheese Company, making it the largest independent soft cheesemaker in the UK.
▲ Preston College has been appointed by Preston City Council to deliver three specific skills programmes. The first centres around ‘green’ skills, the second provides training to counter specific skills shortages in Preston, and a third project will help residents improve their existing skills to progress or secure better paid jobs.
▲ Preston-based Lustalux has provided a range of window films and manifestation designs for the redevelopment of Spindles Shopping Centre in Oldham.
▲ Bowker Motor Group is investing £1m in electric vehicle charging infrastructure and 50 new electric charging points. All charging points are now available for Bowker BMW and MINI customer use at Preston, with Blackburn to follow later this year.
▲ Leyland-based facilities management provider Aston Services Group has more than doubled its annual revenues since 2020. Following the appointment of Nick Atkinson as managing director in March 2019, organic growth has increased revenues from £8.5m in 2020 to £17.3m at the end of 2023 with profits increasing threefold. Forecasts for the end of this year are in the region of £20m.
▲ Seven units totalling 35,000 sq ft have been built and are now all occupied, marking the completion of phase 2 of the Mill Bank Business Park in Darwen. The units were built by Barnfield Construction on behalf of Barnfield Blackburn, the joint venture development company between Barnfield Developments and Blackburn with Darwen Council, after £1.4m of funding was secured by the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership through the Growth Deal Programme.
▲ Kirkham-based Inspired enjoyed 11 per cent growth in 2023, taking total revenues to
▲ The British Business Bank has launched Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II, a £660m pot available to organisations across the North of England. The original fund, launched in 2017, has delivered over £570m of direct and private sector co-investment into 608 businesses in the North West, creating close to 3,500 jobs.
▲ Morecambe-based lens and associated products manufacturer Optimum Coatings has been sold to its 71 employees through a newly- created Employee Ownership Trust.
▲ The restoration of Rochdale Town Hall, an iconic Grade I listed building, has been unveiled after more than four years of hard work – with FWP playing a leading role in the project. The Preston headquartered architect has now
▲ The new £220m Botany Bay Business Park in Chorley has secured Costa Coffee, Greggs and Central Co-Op as future tenants. Taking a total of 7,222 sq ft, all three brands are set to open their new premises to the public by early 2025.
turned its attention to more multi-million-pound projects including the second phase of the redevelopment of the historic Tullie museum in Carlisle and the new Blackbridge Community and Sports Hub in Gloucester, both designed by FWP.
▲ Burscough-based IRS Surfacing Technologies has achieved 25 per cent year- on-year growth in turnover from 2021 to 2023. The family-run business specialises in ceramic, stainless steel, thermal and bronze coatings and overlay technology. For the six months leading up to the end of November 2023, growth accelerated with turnover increasing by 44 per cent compared to the same period last year.
▲ The merger between MHA and MHA Moore and Smalley has been finalised, creating a firm of chartered accountants and business advisers employing more than 1,745 people and 22 offices.
▲ Lancaster Black has been awarded the gold medal at the annual CAMRA Winter Great British Beer Festival. The drink, from Lancaster Brewery, topped the Sessions, Stouts and Porters category. As a category winner it will now be considered for the Champion Beer of Britain competition held later this year.
16
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78
