The Eric Wright Group of Bamber Bridge purchased a £4.1m parade of shops in Bolton town centre. The retail scheme comprises 19 retail units made up of both national and independent local retailers including Holland & Barrett, Game, Heron Frozen Foods and Shoe Zone.
Perrys Motor Village in Preston has The Growing Club in Lancaster
received a three-year core funding grant from the National Lottery’s Reaching Communities programme. The long-term funds allow the social enterprise to continue delivering its skills and training services, which are aimed at women in all stages of business, and to expand its reach.
Concert Living, the commercial arm of
The Progress Housing Group, purchased 9.6 acres of land in Weeton near Preston from Northern Trust Company. The sellers secured outline planning permission for 39 new homes and Fylde Borough Council subsequently granted the buyers a reserved matters application.
TBL Services, which is based within
Lancaster University and helps businesses to meet the UN’s sustainability goals, has attained £50,000 funding for growth from Rosebud. The funds will be used to recruit a team of experienced consultants, allowing company founder Colin Curtis to focus on growing the business.
Kay Group, the forecourts and service stations operator, has increased annual turnover by 13.9 per cent, up to £126m. The Blackburn company also reported a gross profit of £9.49m for the year ending 31 October 2019, which represents a 27.7 per cent year-on-year increase. Blackburn- based 21Digital has also been appointed to redevelop its website and social media strategy, while Limitless PR will now handle its press relations.
teamed up with Armaplate UK to provide protection for its new and used range of Vauxhall commercial vans and non- franchised vehicles. The collaboration was inspired by a What Car? study which found that more than 30 vans are stolen each day in the UK, and businesses have lost more than £61.9m in lost tools and equipment since 2016.
Blackburn-based Provider Cash & Carry
has been sold to Supreme for an undisclosed sum. Provider primarily supplies discount retailers, wholesalers and convenience stores, though export sales have become a more prominent part of the business in recent years.
A survey of people in Morecambe has
found that 99 per cent are in favour of Eden Project North, and the same number feel the development gives them confidence in the area’s future. Opinions were gathered during three open consultation events around the town in October last year. In total, more than 2,000 attended and took part in the study.
Simon Price, principal lecturer with the University of Central Lancashire’s School of Law and Social Science, won the
Outstanding Contribution to Work Experience trophy at the National Undergraduate Employability Awards 2020 in recognition of his work helping students to find more work experience placement opportunities.
Anwyl Homes will develop in West Lancashire for the first time after acquiring 20 acres of land in Burscough. The purchase included existing outline planning permission and Anwyl has since submitted a reserved matters application for 267 new homes.
DOWN
Charities across the county have been seriously affected by the coronavirus lockdown, in particular by the cancellation of major fundraising events this summer. Organisations including Derian House Children’s Hospice, Pendleside Hospice and Emmaus Burnley launched urgent appeals. Meanwhile, The Farleys Foundation began making grants of £1,000 and Progress Housing Group grants of £500 to local organisations. The Community Foundation for Lancashire set about raising £1m to be donated to community projects.
Cookeze, the event catering company based in Buckshaw Village, appointed administrators due to cashflow problems.
The firm serves clients including Manchester United and Liverpool FC, and was hit hard by the cancellation of sporting events. On ceasing trading, 72 workers were made redundant.
Following positive figures to begin
the year, the latest NatWest North West Business Activity Index revealed the sharpest drop in productivity since the global financial crisis of 11 years ago. While the coronavirus pandemic is a worldwide problem, the study showed that the North West has been hit harder than all but one UK region. Where a reading of 50.0 separates growth from contraction, the region’s activity levels fell from 53.0 to 40.7 between February and March.
Find out more at...
enquiries@haworths.co.uk 01254 232521
www.haworths.co.uk
TALKING AND HELPING IS HOW WE DO THINGS
We are in uncharted waters. The grim impact of the coronavirus crisis is hitting businesses hard across all sectors.
They are having to grapple with the ‘new normal’ – finding different ways to work and meet the challenges of the pandemic and the lockdown that has resulted.
Resilience is a word much used during the crisis. And one thing is for sure, we in Lancashire are a resilient bunch.
We’ve seen local companies making massive strides to come to the aid of the NHS, switching production to the tools it needs to cope with the pandemic.
Other businesses have once again shown their commitment to their communities, going that extra mile to support the vulnerable.
That eagerness to serve and to face whatever the crisis throws at them is typical of the way companies of all sizes go about their business here.
Support for businesses is also crucial. Councils across Lancashire have paid out millions in grants to businesses eligible for assistance as part of the Small Business Grants Fund (SBGF) and Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund (RHLGF).
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) is also swinging into action, allowing employers to claim 80 per cent of the wages of staff that they have furloughed - up to a maximum of £2,500 per employee wage costs.
The government’s move to protect under pressure retailers from “aggressive” rent collection is also welcome. As are new insolvency measures to prevent companies unable to meet debts due to the impact of coronavirus from going out of business.
Closer to home Boost, Lancashire’s Business Growth Hub, has been hard at work with its #AskForHelp campaign.
Talking to each other, helping each other. It is the Lancashire way and it is what will get us through these difficult days.
Paul Spencer Director, Haworths
haworths-limited
LANCASHIREBUSINESSVIEW.CO.UK
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