▲
courierinsurance.co.uk, a specialist insurance broker based in Preston, has been acquired by New Era, which is part of the JMG Group. The company was established in 2012 and provides services covering courier van insurance, public liability insurance, breakdown cover and fleet insurance.
▲ Tech skills specialist IN4 Group is working in partnership with Blackburn College to help Lancashire adults attain high quality jobs with some of the industry’s leading employers. The collaboration will ensure people from Blackburn and across Lancashire have a clear pathway to tech jobs with a focus on adult career changers, career breakers and those from minority and disadvantaged backgrounds. IN4 will draw on its extensive network of industry clients and partners, including BT, IBM, Microsoft and Vodafone.
▲ BAE Systems has committed £500,000 over the next three years to helping thousands of young people from across Lancashire to improve their digital skills. The aerospace giant is backing Chorley-based CREATE Education, giving each participating school its own 3D printer and interactive training workshops for staff and students.
▲ Haslingden-based underlay specialist Interfloor has called on fellow Lancashire firm Workhouse to lead its brand strategy and communications. The company, which manufactures popular brands such as Tredaire, Duralay, Gripperrods and Sonixx brands, is looking to increase its presence in the UK market.
▲ Cotton Court, the serviced office and co- working space in Preston, has opened new premises in Leyland. Oak House previously served as a school, care home and offices.
▲ Burnley-based Cherrytree Bakery is set to open a £1m extension, with its sights set on doubling turnover to £50m over the next three years. The 12,000 sq ft building sits adjacent to its current headquarters and will house state-of-the-art facilities which will increase production capacity.
▲ Preston-based Artistry House Interiors is putting its expertise towards the £15m transformation of the Manchester Museum. The museum, 130 years old, is part of the University of Manchester and houses around 4.5 million objects from natural sciences and human cultures.
▲ Preston-based fireplace specialist Burning Desires has been acquired by Paddy Umpleby, a member of the management team who joined the company in 2010. The business was sold by Sean Treaddell, who launched it in 1991. Harrison Drury advised on the sale.
▲ Burnley Council has granted planning permission for Advance Point Business Park, a new £11m commercial development scheme from Nelson-based Barnfield Construction. The site at Rossendale Road will feature 36 modern industrial units with roller shutter access and 160 car parking spaces.
▲ Lancashire County Council’s plans for a new sports facility at Farington, which will serve both local residents as well as the county’s cricket team, have been approved in principle. As it sits on green belt land, the application will now need to be referred to the Secretary of State for consideration before any planning permission can be granted.
▲ Chorley-based PAR Group has acquired Guildford-based Aquarius Plastics Ltd for an undisclosed sum. PAR manufactures and supplies engineering plastic, insulation and rubber products to customers in the UK, Europe and around the world.
▲ Work has begun on converting a disused bowling club into a supported living home for adults with learning disabilities. Once complete, the site on Mornington Road in Preston will feature 13 apartments, a communal lounge, car parking spaces and gardens. It will operate as part of Lancashire County Council’s supported living service and will provide hi-tech homes for adults who require support with everyday living.
DOWN
▼ The sharp rise in inflation has caused a rapid increase in the number of commercial contract disputes. Stuart Farr of Blackburn-based Taylors Solicitors says that many older contracts have price rises linked to the now-outdated retail price index, causing customers to feel they are overpaying compared to those using the newer consumer price index as a benchmark. The number of disputes has risen by 25 per cent over the year, from both customers fighting for a fairer price and suppliers trying to recoup money owed.
▼ Hydraulics specialist Flowtech has posted £5.6m losses on revenues of £115m. The company is in the
process of shedding 10 per cent of its workforce and will close its Leicester warehouse, absorbing operations into its Skelmersdale base. Chairman Roger McDowell predicts short-term customer disruption followed by long-term growth.
▼ The UK’s GDP flatlined in February following 0.4 per cent growth in January. The British Chambers of Commerce expects GDP to contract overall by 0.3 per cent this year. However, Jonathan Moyes, head of investment research at Wealth Club, noted: “If one were looking for positives, unseasonably warm weather and industrial action were the chief drivers of lower growth, rather than a downturn in general business.”
Joe Douglas Senior Manager
/leonard-curtis- business-solutions-group
HMRC TIGHTENS TIME TO PAY ARRANGEMENTS
HMRC’s position on Time to Pay (TTP) arrangements has tightened in recent months.
During the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, HMRC rightly adopted a supportive strategy with respect to outstanding liabilities, opting to support longer term arrangements and halting the majority of enforcement actions.
As we move on from the pandemic years, we are now seeing HMRC beginning to return to a more normalised position in terms of collecting tax revenues. This is clearly illustrated in the number of advertised winding-up petitions. In the entirety of 2021 only eight filed petitions were advertised. In 2022, there were 693, with 70 per cent falling in the last four months of the year.
Within the funding pillar of Leonard Curtis sits an expert team specialising in TTP arrangements and informal negotiations.
Since forming the team in 2001, we have successfully negotiated well over a thousand TTPs, rescheduling almost £200m of liabilities and helping to secure more than 45,000 jobs. In that time, we’ve witnessed many changes in HMRC’s attitude to arrangements, whether due to external factors, such as the banking crisis and Covid or due to internal policy changes.
Our own recent experience with HMRC has seen a tightening down on the duration of TTP agreements. In 2021, the average TTP we agreed was for 34 months, with the longest being over 11 years. In 2022, that average had reduced to 29 months, and, for the year to date, we are averaging 25 months. HMRC are becoming less lenient and Time To Pay arrangement conditions are returning to pre- pandemic levels.
As always, it is key when dealing with HMRC that business owners enter dialogue early, to ensure the best chance of agreeing an arrangement with an affordable level of repayments without putting the business under any undue pressure.
Call us on 0330 0243 999 or visit
lcbsg.co.uk
LANCASHIREBUSINES SV
IEW.CO.UK
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