property investment company Dixon Grange, for £3.6m. The Villa joins several other leisure companies already in the group, including Mill Farm Sports Village, the home of AFC Fylde, Cark Manor and Aynsome Manor, two five-star properties near Cartmel in the Lake District.
▲ BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin announced a strategic partnership to develop a range of uncrewed autonomous air systems. The collaboration will see the defence giant’s advanced research and development divisions – Lockheed Martin Skunk Works and BAE System’s FalconWorks at Warton – work together on a common design.
▲ Burnley aerospace company Velocity Composites has signed a 10-year contract extension with a longstanding Tier One customer worth up to $54m. The contract will see company supply composite material kits parts for the Airbus A350 programme in a deal that will run until 2035.
▲ The Haythornthwaite family have bought one of Lancashire’s most iconic leisure venues, The Villa at Wrea Green, through their
▲ University of Lancashire has been acknowledged for its contribution towards regeneration and social and economic growth to the region. The institution has maintained its strong regional standing in the annual Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF). KEF 2025 placed the university in the top 20 per cent of English higher education institutions for local growth, working with the public and third sector, continuous professional development (CPD) and graduate start-ups.
Miranda Barker OBE Chief executive
@elancschamber
GET INVOLVED AND SHAPE
COUNTY’S FUTURE This autumn, our local councils submit proposals to government for the reorganisation of all our local government bodies – district councils, existing unitaries, county council. It’s all change.
Now I know our local councils in no way agree about what model they prefer – it’s anywhere between two and five unitary councils across Lancashire.
But I do think their ideal is to be able to send one collective letter to government, with a whole range of choices, and at least not appearing looking argumentative anymore.
The public will then feedback in spring time’s consultation and government select the final solution next summer.
I don’t know about you, but doesn’t that feel slightly strange? Wouldn’t we, as businesspeople, have tried to narrow down the choices to maybe two or three that we could live with? If you ask me, it feels like leaving too much to chance, or to government.
▲ Blackpool’s Pleasure Beach Resort is celebrating after picking up prizes at the UK Theme Park Awards – including a win for its newly re-imagined ride, Launch Pad. It won gold for Launch Pad in the ‘Best Re-imagined Ride’ category and also took silver in the ‘Best Use of IP’ category for Wallace and Gromit’s Thrill-O-Matic – which received brand new scenes this year – and bronze for ‘Best Theme Park for Thrills.’
Now as a chamber, I see this as a personal decision. I think the chamber should by and large be neutral, but once the choice is made, we should fight tooth and nail to make sure whatever model is chosen, it’s enacted in the absolute best way for our local economy, providing the best services to our businesses and our people, learning from the best we have, and not taking cost-cutting shortcuts.
So get involved, tell your councillors what you want, which model, how many unitaries, how the areas should come together.
DOWN
▼ Business confidence in the North West fell 20 points to 27 per cent, according to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds. Companies in the region reported lower confidence in their own business prospects month-on-month, down nine points at 44 per cent. When taken alongside their optimism in the economy, down 31 points to nine per cent, this gives a headline confidence reading of 27 per cent compared to 47 per cent in August.
▼ The mastermind of one of the UK’s
biggest ever carousel tax frauds has been ordered to pay back more than £90m with the sale of property across Preston, London and overseas. Sock manufacturer Arif Patel, 57, from Fulwood, was the head of an organised crime group based in the city. He and his gang tried to steal £97m through VAT repayment claims on false exports of textiles and mobile phones. They also imported and sold counterfeit clothes that would have been worth at least £50m, had they been genuine.
And then, when the time comes, let’s make sure our councils and politicians are in no doubt what services are vital to you, what’s done well where you are, or better somewhere else.
Let’s not leave anything to chance – let’s shape our future.
Call us on 01254 356400 or visit
chamberelancs.co.uk
2026 CATEGORIES
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