▲ Darwen Terracotta has become an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT), marking a significant milestone in the company’s journey and reaffirming its commitment to people, heritage, and long-term sustainability. The move comes as the business celebrated a decade of continuous growth in 2025, following its remarkable rebirth from the closure of a long-established ceramic manufacturer whose architectural division ceased trading in 2015.
▲ More than 105,000 visitors attended the ‘Wallace and Gromit in A Case at the Museum’ exhibition during its first eight weeks at The Harris in Preston. By the end of 2025, The Harris had welcomed 154,497 visitors, with the success of Wallace and Gromit underlining the cultural and economic impact of high- profile exhibitions beyond the capital.
▲ Blackburn based Science in Sport (SiS) has announced a renewed three-year partnership with Loughborough University to strengthen its long-standing collaboration across elite sport and performance nutrition. The agreement builds on an initial three- year partnership founded through a shared commitment to evidence-based practice.
▲ Greater Lancashire Hospital in Preston has been officially opened in a ribbon cutting ceremony by Maya Ellis, MP for Ribble Valley. The event took place at the D’Urton Lane site. Family-owned Bespoke Healthcare Group announced the acquisition of First Trust Hospital last autumn for an undisclosed fee.
Miranda Barker OBE Chief executive
@elancschamber
POLICY STABILITY LETS FIRMS PLAN
FOR GROWTH When we speak to our chamber businesses, and for that matter all firms far and wide across the county, and ask them what they most need from government, the answer is not what you might expect.
It’s not ‘more money, less tax’, it’s simply certainty. Certainty in terms of policy, subsidies, funding, the way the wind may blow next week month or year in favour of their EVs or their pubs and restaurants.
It seems in so many ways a death of 1,000 cuts. From employment law burdens and minimum wages, to national insurance, business rates and exporting paperwork. Support for a sector one minute – withdrawn the next.
The political and policy left hand doesn’t seem to know what the right hand is doing – look at the rollercoaster of contradicting measures concerning the hospitality sector, government giving with one hand whilst taking with the other.
▲ Blackpool based engineering and manufacturing specialist, Airframe Designs, has announced a strategic rebrand to AFD Systems. The new name reflects the company’s evolution from a niche airframe design consultancy into a market-leading advanced engineering and manufacturing business, serving the worldwide aerospace and defence sectors, and other emerging industries.
Business owners by and large don’t feel entitled to charity and nor do they expect it, but they do want policy stability, to be able to plan ahead, feel confident enough to invest, knowing they will get a return.
DOWN
▼ Hundreds of aerospace workers in Lancashire took renewed strike action against BAE Systems in their deepening dispute over pay. The escalation in February saw more than 1,000 Unite members at Warton and Samlesbury take part in widespread industrial action and over 200 design team members take part in walkouts. The row centres on a 3.6 per cent pay deal.
▼ UK-listed companies in the North West issued 21 profit warnings during 2025, down 28 per cent from the 29 warnings issued in 2024, according to EY-Parthenon’s latest report. It shows 12 of the warnings issued by listed companies in the region last year came
from consumer-facing businesses, underscoring persistent consumer confidence challenges amid a sluggish economic growth outlook.
▼ North West businesses continued to face intense financial pressure throughout 2025, with the region recording some of the highest numbers of insolvency- related activity in the UK, according to a new report from R3, the trade body for restructuring, turnaround and insolvency professionals. The figures for the region show a 1.4 per cent increase in cases, rising to 4,880 from 4,814 in 2024. Only Greater London had more insolvency activity last year with 5,684 cases.
And that used to be a contract government had with business too. It was a balanced equation in the main, government invested in business support, in innovation stimulation, and business owners were able to grow new revenues, and government taxed the profits. But now, we seem to just get the take, take, take with no stimulation investment.
This is government deciding to kill the golden goose. It’s akin to a caveman forgetting the secret of fire. We are going backwards and that covenant with business for mutual growth is broken.
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