Crain's Manchester Business - 14-18 December, 2009 - (Page 1)

CRAIN’S LIST General Contractors Page 14 STARTS ON PAGE 11 Commercial Property Service is the key CRAIN’S MANCHESTER BUSINESS VOL. 2, ISSUE 50, DECEMBER 14 - 18, 2009 CrainsManchesterBusiness.co.uk £2 What’s News ■ The MEN Arena is being bought by a UK-based property investment firm for “a good level above” its £60m asking price, according to a person familiar with the situation. The building is currently under offer and a deal is expected to complete within the next three weeks although the buyer has not been named. Ten offers were received for the 21,000-seater arena, all of which were above the £60m price tag. Three firms made it to a shortlist — two of which were UK-based pension funds — before the final bidder was chosen. Chris Bathurst from commercial property consultancy Christopher Dee, which is selling the asset on behalf of owners Capital & Regional and GE Real Estate UK, said: “We were very pleased with the number of parties that showed interest. The draw of the asset is proved by the number of bids received.” The arena was bought for £61.7m in 2006. Threadneedle, Prudential, Legal & General and Standard Life are said to have shown interest. ■ The civil service campus planned for the former Mayfield goods terminal close to Manchester’s Piccadilly railway station may create an additional 2.600 jobs on top of the 5,000 civil servants who will be relocated there, according to a report compiled by Manchester City Council. A framework document set to go before the executive this week claims the 500,000 sq ft campus could add £90m to the city’s gross value added. ■ The general manager of RF Hotel’s five-star Lowry Hotel in Salford is leaving the firm to take up a new post in the Middle East. Jason Harding will leave the hotel next month and will relocate to Dubai to run The Palace – the Old Town hotel at Dubai. It is owned by Emaar Properties, which developed the Burj Dubai tower. “I’ve been talking to Sir Rocco since September about it because I’ve always said that when I got to this stage of my career I’d want to do something internationally,” he said. “It’s a huge opportunity for me and it ticked a lot of boxes — it’s with a good company that operates some great hotels.” His replacement at the Lowry has yet to be announced. ■ The British Council is looking to relocate its Manchester office from Bridgewater House on Whitworth Street. The council which acts as Britain’s international cultural relations body, is looking for between 20,000 and 40,000 sq ft in or on the fringes of Manchester city centre. In July, the quango said it was outsourcing Manchesterbased finance jobs to India in order to cut costs. Club to cash in on ‘party people’ era Hacienda licence holder Peter Hook and club owner Aaron Mellor join forces in £300k venture BY SIMON BINNS The former Manchester city centre head office of Factory Records is being converted into a nightclub by a consortium including Peter Hook, who was involved in setting up the nowdefunct record label and The Hacienda nightclub with Tony Wilson. Hook is working with Aaron Mellor, director at Oldham-based Tokyo Industries, on a £300,000 venture to refurbish and re-open the Paradise Factory on Charles Street, which Factory Records used as its office from 1990 but sold when the firm went bust two years later. It will open on January 29 as The Factory, with help from Ben Kelly, who designed The Hacienda in the 1980s. The club — immortalised in the film 24 Hour Party People — closed in June 1997 and the building on Whitworth Street West was later demolished to make way for an apartment block. The joint venture has taken a 25-year lease on the Paradise Factory building, owned by Carol Ainscow, managing director of Manchesterbased property firm Artisan Holdings. Mellor said that former New Order bass guitarist Hook, who owns the licence to the Hacienda name, was acting as “musical director” while nightclub operator Tokyo Industries was providing the capital investment. Concept “The concept is to reclaim the nostalgia that is associated with Factory Records,” he told Crain’s. “So much of what it did has been destroyed or lost. We’re looking to reestablish the character of the old head office and bring it back to use as a nightclub and also as a live music venue. Peter Hook is bringing the musical inspiration. “We’ve had to spend £100,000 just to secure and soundproof the building so the noise doesn’t affect the nearby apartments and hotel.” Hannes Floto at the Eccles branch of Makro SEE FACTORY, PAGE 18 Chill Factore refinances after covenant breach BY SIMON BINNS Extreme Cool Ltd, the firm that owns the Chill Factore indoor snow centre in Trafford, is in the process of refinancing its debts after breaching its banking covenants. Newly-filed accounts for the Worcestershire-based firm, covering the year to October 31, 2008, show that losses widened to £8.9m from £2.7m in 2007 and net liabilities increased to £12.1m from £3.2m. The company, whose sole operating asset is the two-year-old Chill Factore, owes £7.9m to creditors in the next 12 month and has long term liabilities of £33.5m. The directors’ report in the accounts said it was “at an advanced stage in negotiations” with its bankers and funders but believed an “adequate” arrangement would be made. One secured creditor, believed to be Royal Bank of Scotland, is owed £28.2m. Steven Evans, chief executive of Extreme Cool, told Crain’s that a refinancing was set to be agreed this week. He said the 250,000 sq ft snow centre attraction would break even in its next financial year. “We have finalised new arrangements with the bank and a refinancing will be completed very soon,” he said. “The original investors have made a further financial commitment to the company and we are now on a secure footing. “Cash revenues will be up in 2009 off the back of improved footfall and we have also seen like-for-like sales growth.” Extreme Cool Ltd raised £33m in I’M TURNING ROUND THE TANKER BY JAMES CHAPELARD SEE WHAT’S NEWS, PAGE 2 ash and carry retailer Makro hopes to win market share from rivals by starting a delivery service. It also aims to boost margins by doubling the proportion of own label products. Hannes Floto, managing director, is hoping these two moves will accelerate his long-running efforts to turn around the Eccles-based business, which lost £26.7m in 2008. Floto said 2009 would be “a positive year” for Makro with an increase in like-for-like sales. Total revenue would be slightly down, however, because three unprofitable stores were closed in March. Turnover fell 2.6 per cent to £899.5m in 2008. Makro is now trialling deliveries in three stores, including Eccles, with plans to roll the concept out if successful. Core customers, mostly owners of shops, pubs restaurants and catering businesses, drive an average of half an hour to the store, but deliveries would be aimed at those based up to an hour away. The move would help in the battle against rivals Booker and 3663 First for Foodservice, who both deliver. Floto, who has been running Marko Self Service Wholesalers Ltd since January 2007, said: “It’s potentially one of the big things to come. SEE CHILL, PAGE 18 SEE MAKRO, PAGE 18 Leading Page 3 RAG TRADE BIDS FAREWELL TO ITS HISTORIC HOME http://CrainsManchesterBusiness.co.uk

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crain's Manchester Business - 14-18 December, 2009

Crain's Manchester Business - 14-18 December, 2009

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