Crain's Manchester Business - 18-22 January, 2010 - (Page 1)

CRAIN’S LIST Corporate Finance Deals STARTS ON PAGE 11 Page 14 Technology & Telecom Bell tolls for desk phones CRAIN’S MANCHESTER BUSINESS VOL. 3, ISSUE 3, JANUARY 18 - 22, 2010 CrainsManchesterBusiness.co.uk £2 What’s News ■ Wincanton, the Wiltshire-based logistics and supply chain management firm, will spend £3m on the development of an 110,000 sq ft handling and distribution hub in Trafford Park. The new distribution centre will increase Wincanton’s foodservice capabilities by more than 125 per cent and provides space for nearly 6,500 pallets of product. David Jones, managing director of foodservice at Wincanton, said: “We are investing significantly in our foodservice business and have aggressive plans for growth; this site is just the beginning of a business transformation programme.” ■ Law firm Addleshaw Goddard spent £20.9m fitting out its new London office in Milton Gate, according to new filings at Companies House. The firm, which also has offices in Manchester and Leeds, took out a £5.5m loan to help fund the new flagship office, and used cash reserves to pay for the rest of the move. The accounts also show that the highest-paid member at the firm received £552,995 in the year to April 2009. The average total staff number dropped by 64 to 1,178 during the year, although redundancies made in the latter half of 2009 were not accounted for in the LLP filing. ■ Manchester Building Society’s decision to restart lending to buyto-let investors will do nothing to kickstart the city centre apartment market. Executive director Ian Richardson said the new fixed rate mortgage products would not be offered on properties less than three or four years old. “We need to see an established secondary market,” he told Crain’s. The products are pegged for three years at 5.74 per cent (65 per cent loan to value) and 5.99 per cent (70 per cent LTV) and are aimed at financially secure investors owning no more than four rental properties. Last summer the society pulled out of buy-to-let, which makes up about 6 per cent of its portfolio, but its Whiteaway Laidlaw Bank subsidiary stayed in the market. ■ Irlam-based Kingsland Wines and Spirits has launched a new screw cap wine bottle which it claims is the lightest in the UK. The firm said that it has spent two years designing the bottle, which is around 120g lighter and uses 30 per cent less glass than a standard wine bottle. The bottle, which is made by Irish production company Quinn Glass, has the same impact resistance as standard bottles and is the same size. Kingsland imprts wines for Tesco and the CoOperative Group, and said that if all of its customers switch to the new bottle, the reduction in the amount NW rich list snubs United bond issue But securities analyst says Asian investors will stump up cash because of club’s global brand BY JAMES CHAPELARD Manchester United will struggle to get the North West’s high net worth individuals to invest in its £500m bond issue, judging by a straw poll carried out by Crain’s Goldman Sachs have written to wealthy individuals in recent days to invite them to take part in the issue. Ainscough Crane Hire founder Martin Ainscough said he had been approached but would not be investing. “It’s not something that I would get involved in,” he said “I’m more of a rugby fan.” Iqbal Ahmed, chief executive of Manchester-based food importer and distributor Seamark, who has seen the prospectus, said: “It’s very high risk. I am not getting involved. I think it’s a clever move by Manchester United to raise funds.” Manchester United fan Fred Done, whose Betfred business used to be the club’s former official betting partner, was the most vociferous opponent of the bond issue. He told Crain’s: “As an investment, I would not touch it with a barge pole.” Another high net worth individual in the North West, who was approached by Goldman Sachs, said: “If the team fails to do well during the life of the bond then the bond’s value will depreciate, even if the value at the end of the bond’s life is cost, meaning that it will not be easily cashable until the end of the term. “As a supporter I hope that the team prospers. As an investor I must have doubts about the team’s success with owners of clubs such as Manchester City and Chelsea probably prepared to throw big money at their clubs.” The bonds, which mature in 2017, will enable Manchester United to pay off £509.5m of senior debt on which they pay annual interest of £41.9m. Club owners, members of the Glazer family, are personally liable for a further £202m in payment in kind notes (PIK) which accrue David Vincent inside Stadium Point SEE UNITED, PAGE 18 Fun for young is key to super casino site plans BY SIMON BINNS Manchester City Football Club wants an attraction next to its stadium which will help establish the club as a global brand, according to the developer of the former super casino site. Veteran leisure entrepreneur Paul Gregg is close to submitting firm proposals for the 18-acre site between the City of Manchester Stadium and Alan Turing Way. Gregg told Crain’s the proposed “City Village” would be based on “a mix of sport and entertainment” although finer details were still being thrashed out with the football club and Manchester City Council. “The City Village concept is right but at the moment we are all making sure the vision and ambitions for the scheme are the same,” said Gregg. “The football club is incredibly important to the project — it is a big part of their vision and it needs to be a meeting of minds between us, the city council and the club. “Manchester City has an ambition to be a world brand and a long-term player and an investor in the area. Our concept has to help achieve that. The idea has always been a mix of sport and entertainment. “We started the process 18 months ago, before the club’s ownership changed. But we still see the opportunities that exist and so does the club. It’s not that the project is being driven by the club, but the Manchester City brand is increasingly important to it. “The football club and the council have to look at what works for them, as do we. When every stakeholder DREAMS BY SIMON BINNS ARENA OF T SEE WHAT’S NEWS, PAGE 2 he owner of Sankey’s nightclub is looking to open a new £5m live music venue in a Trafford warehouse owned by Manchester United Football Club. David Vincent wants to turn the 86,500 sq ft Stadium Point on Trafford Wharf Road, opposite the Imperial War Museum North, into a venue capable of holding up to 16,000 people for live music concerts and indoor festivals. He said the development would create around 250 jobs in the area and will have a positive knock-on effect for the economies of both Trafford and Salford. There has been opposition from local residents and Vincent said he would address their fears by spending £500,000 on sound-proofing the venue. He has taken a 20-year lease on the building at a rent he described as “below market value” and plans to invest £1m in the first two years. The venue would be a totally separate entity to Sankey’s on Jersey Street, Ancoats, and about 75 per cent of its shows would be from other promoters. “We’ve agreed a two-year trial period with Trafford Council to see how SEE CITY, PAGE 18 SEE CLUB, PAGE 18 Leading Page 3 LAW FIRM TO BRANCH OUT AFTER TRADING STANDARDS CASE WIN http://CrainsManchesterBusiness.co.uk

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crain's Manchester Business - 18-22 January, 2010

Crain's Manchester Business - 18-22 January, 2010