September 2007

NEWS

Unexpected fall in inflation may halt rise in interest rates

The UK's annual consumer price inflation (CPI) rate fell sharply in July, down to 1.9 per cent from 2.4 per cent in June, a much bigger decrease than the expected figure of 2.3 per cent. It was the largest monthly drop in the CPI rate for five years, and the first time since March 2006 that the figure had fallen below the government's target rate of 2 per cent. Sterling also dipped below the $2 mark for the first time since mid-June. The fall in inflation was due largely to a sharp monthly decline in food prices and the largest ever monthly fall in furniture prices. Although the fall in the price of food at least was likely to be temporary (due to floods in the UK and drought elsewhere), it was thought that the overall fall in CPI would make it less likely that the Bank of England would raise interest rates to 6 per cent in the near future, as had been widely predicted. It was thought that the Bank would now wait to see how the economy developed before moving rates again from the current 5.75 per cent.

Manufacturing grew in July at its fastest rate for three years, with the latest survey from the Chartered Institute of Purchasing Managers showing the index of manufacturing activity at 55.7, up from 54.7 in June. However, the rising cost of many raw materials - such as oil, metals, plastics and food - has encouraged producers to raise prices at the factory gate, adding to inflationary pressures. The continued strength of sterling seemed to be taking a toll, with a drop in export orders, but this was still the 24th consecutive month of expansion and the strongest reading since July 2004.
 

Regions report another successful year for FDI
As reported last month, the UK attracted a record 1,431 investment projects from overseas companies in 2006-07, according to the annual report of inward investment agency UK Trade & Investment (UKTI). The total number of projects was up 17 per cent from 1,220 the previous year and, between them, projects created 36,526 new jobs and safeguarded a further 41,831 around the country.

Breaking the figures down by region, it can be seen that most areas of the UK enjoyed a successful year, and that foreign direct investment (FDI) was spread widely. The Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) and other inward investment agencies played an important part in attracting overseas companies. In London, for example, Think London helped to realise 134 foreign-funded projects over the year, excluding merger and acquisition (M&A) deals. In total, including M&As, London attracted 388 projects over the 12 months, up 17 per cent on the previous year's figure. Between them, these projects created 7,118 new jobs, up 38 per cent year-on-year, and safeguarded 901 others.

Amgen's European Development Centre, Uxbridge

Recent investors in the capital include US biotechnology leader Amgen, which has established a new $175 million European Development Centre at Uxbridge, on the western outskirts of the city, and compatriot Vault, an internet company that publishes information for jobseekers, which has established a base in the Farringdon area of central London. Michael Charlton, chief executive of Think London, said: "London is the largest recipient of FDI in Europe and second only to Shanghai worldwide. Despite the challenges of increasing international competition, [it] continues to build on its position as a leading global business centre. FDI is crucial to London's growth, accounting for 42 per cent of the capital's economic growth between 1998 and 2004."

The South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) secured 84 investments by overseas companies over the course of 2006/07, generating more than 2,300 new jobs and safeguarding more than 1,500 existing ones. Of the projects, 24 involved new or expanding UK or European headquarters. In addition, the SEEDA team helped over 500 companies to start exporting and assisted 950 existing exporters to enter new markets. The agency hosted 86 company visits to the region by prospective investors over the year. North America remained the leading source of investment into the region, but one of the most prominent single investments came from Swiss waste management company Von Roll Inova (VRI), which chose to locate its UK HQ in Crawley, Sussex.

The East Midlands claimed 84 international projects, with the East Midlands Development Agency (emda) assisting in 44 of them. A total of 5,733 jobs were created or safeguarded, with emda accounting for 4,410 of these, an increase of 27 per cent on its performance the previous year. Investors included Sydac and Bomac Engineering of Australia, Geometric Software Solutions from India, Scanlaser of Switzerland, Transmitton of Germany, Futuba and Nifco of Japan and Endosoft of the US.

In the West Midlands, 2,500 jobs were created by inward investment projects and a further 11,996 were safeguarded. Among the projects assisted by RDA Advantage West Midlands, 11 jobs were created when the State Bank of India opened an office in Birmingham, a new Airbus UK plant at Bickenhill, Birmingham took on 220 R&D staff and Sega Europe employed 70 new workers in Solihull.

In Yorkshire and Humber, 55 overseas companies chose to invest, creating or safeguarding over 1,700 jobs and bringing over $200 million into the local economy. The top source of investment was the US, with 15 projects, followed by China with 10. South Yorkshire attracted 40 per cent of the region's investment, with the Humber area accounting for 20 per cent, West Yorkshire 15 per cent and North Yorkshire seven per cent. Manufacturing was the most popular area of investment (nine projects), followed by biotechnology and distribution (seven apiece). Investors included Cobelfret, Severstal-Metiz and Sun Chemical Corp.

The North West accounted for an impressive 138 investment projects, creating or safeguarding 7,520 jobs, an increase of 700 from the previous year. The North West Development Agency (NWDA) and its sub-regional partners helped to secure investments such as a $34 million project by Handleman of the US in Greater Manchester, which will create up to 400 jobs; a $30 million expansion by Asahi Glass of Japan in Lancashire; in Cheshire, the acquisition of Brunner Mond by Tata International of India; an $80 million expansion by Eastman Chemicals of the US in Cumbria; and an expansion of the Spanish-owned O2 call centre on Merseyside. The US accounted for 50 projects, or 40 per cent of the total, and there was also a surge of investment from China, which accounted for 17 projects, 12 per cent of the total.

North East England recorded 64 new investments or reinvestments by foreign companies, which created 1,828 jobs and safeguarded 3,831 more. RDA One NorthEast had direct involvement in 44 of the projects. FDI capital expenditure in the region leaped from $114 million in 2005/06 to nearly $2 billion, due to large-scale investment from firms such as Seadragon Offshore, Sabic Petrochemicals of Saudi Arabia and bioethanol manufacturer Ensus. One NorthEast also helped to establish 36 global partnerships between private sector companies, universities and regional Centres for Excellence.

Wales claimed 67 investment projects, compared with 51 the year before; these created 3,379 new jobs and safeguarded 2,788. Significant new investments included projects by Amazon, G24Innovations, Valtech and Takao, along with reinvestments by stalwarts such as Toyota and Sony. A quarter of all jobs secured by International Business Wales, the inward investment arm of the Welsh Assembly Government, were classed as high-value, paying salaries of $60,000 or more, well above the national average.

Scottish Enterprise reported 62 investment projects over the year, 35 from the US and Canada, nine from Asia-Pacific and 18 from Europe, the Middle East and Africa. They created 7,500 jobs, of which 1,774 were judged to be high-value. Nationally, Scotland claimed more than 25 per cent of large-scale projects creating 250 jobs or more, and 12 out of a total of 47 R&D projects. By sector, financial intermediation accounted for the largest number, with ten projects, followed by electronics with seven, business services with six and pharmaceuticals and machinery & equipment, with five apiece.

Invest Northern Ireland had its most successful year, securing 28 new overseas-owned projects for the province, creating 3,497 jobs and safeguarding 199 more. Seventeen of these projects were first-time international investments, and between them they represented a planned investment of $256 million, including Invest NI assistance of $54 million. Some 76 per cent of first-time investments will be located in new Targeting Social Need areas. A further 11 overseas companies committed to expanding their existing Northern Ireland operations, and these were offered almost $20 million of Invest NI assistance towards planned investment of over $96 million.

Leslie Morrison, chief executive of Invest NI, said "Winning investment from Firstsource, Tyco, Axa, Imagine Telecom and Coca-Cola, in addition to reinvestment by Citigroup, Liberty IT, Teleperformance, Almac, Galen and Bombardier, indicates investor confidence in Northern Ireland and optimism for the future."
 

Scottish RSA grants boost capital projects
Companies in Scotland accepted $184 million in Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) grant aid in 2006/07, according to the RSA Annual Summary 2006/07 by the Scottish Executive. RSA is the main national scheme for financial assistance to industry, providing discretionary grants for investment projects that will create or safeguard jobs in Assisted Areas.

A total of 134 offers were accepted, involving planned capital expenditure of $832 million. Of these, 82 (61 per cent) involved Scottish-owned companies and 36 (27 per cent) foreign-owned firms. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) accounted for 86 of the RSA offers, accepting total grants of more than $36 million towards investment of $144 million and more than 2,000 associated jobs.

There were a number of large awards in excess of $2 million, including $20 million to paper manufacturer UPM-Kymmene in Irvine, $18 million to Grangemouth-based diesel and petrol manufacturer INEOS Manufacturing Scotland, $11.2 million to aero engine repairer GE Caledonian Ltd in Prestwick and nearly $4 million each to fibre manufacturer SGL Technic Ltd in Easter Ross and financial services company Alliance Trust in Dundee.

Investment in Scotland goes from strength to strength
One of the latest Scottish RSA grant recipients is international bank Morgan Stanley, which in July was awarded $12 million to assist in an expansion of its finance, operations and technology support functions in Glasgow. The expansion will create 600 new jobs, in addition to the 770 staff the company already employs in the city. The financial services sector is one of the strongest parts of the Scottish economy, winning 66 investment projects from outside the UK in 2006, according to the 2007 European Investment Monitor from Ernst & Young. This was up from 36 projects in 2005 and put Scotland in third place in the UK for financial services investment, behind only London and South East England. Growth was led by the banking and insurance sectors, with strong support supplied by the Financial Services Advisory Board (FiSAB), Scotland's unique financial services partnership between industry, government and trade unions.

Other major developments in the financial services sector include Anglo Irish Bank's decision to triple the size of its Scottish operations, announced in August. The company has taken a long-term lease on its 5,500 sq ft of office space in Edinburgh and is also to occupy two floors of an office block in Vincent Street, Glasgow, taking its overall floor space to 10,000 sq ft. Meanwhile French banking group BNP Paribas is to expand its Scottish operations, creating 370 jobs in its offices in Glasgow and Dundee over the next three to five years. Supported by an RSA grant of $7.4 million, the expansion will include outsourcing investment operations to fund managers and other institutional investors.

In the pharmaceuticals/life sciences sector, North Carolina-based drug development company PPD is to create almost 400 new jobs in Scotland over the next three years, more than doubling its existing workforce. The new jobs will be in data development, biostatistics and clinical trial management and monitoring; the expansion is being supported by a $9 million RSA grant from the Scottish Executive. The firm will also invest $30 million in its site at Strathclyde Business Park in Bellshill, Lanarkshire, where it will build a new 34,000 sq ft building alongside its existing premises.

Another major US pharmaceutical company, Quintiles Translational, is to invest a further $15 million in Scotland to create a base for its product development business. The company, which provides clinical testing services to drug-makers, already employs 470 people in Bathgate and Livingston; the new investment will create a further 150 jobs. Quantiles plans to build a 104,000 sq ft factory at the Alba Campus in Livingston to house its expanding development business, which includes Quintiles Laboratories and the Novaquest Group.

Meanwhile Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth of the US, one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, won one of three 'Best Investment in Europe' titles at the recent La Baule World Investment Conference, held in France, for its leading role in creating the world's first Translational Medicine Research Collaboration (TMRC) in Scotland in 2006. Wyeth, based in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, has already created more than 120 jobs in Scotland. It plans to invest an estimated $66 million in the collaboration in the first five years, with an option to extend for a further five years; additionally, Scottish Enterprise will invest up to $35 million.

Scottish Enterprise has formed a joint venture with US development specialist Alexandria Real Estate Equities to develop the Edinburgh BioQuarter campus on the outskirts of the Scottish capital. This large-scale development will put Edinburgh among an elite group of biotech sites worldwide, which include Biopolis in Singapore, Mission Bay in San Francisco and Novum Biocity in Stockholm. Scottish Enterprise and Alexandria will work closely with the National Health Service (NHS) and the University of Edinburgh to capitalise on the city's strong existing life sciences infrastructure. Among facilities on the site will be the $236 million Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine (SCRM), which will be led by Professor Ian Wilmut, creator of Dolly the sheep.

The Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre (EPCC) at the University of Edinburgh in the meantime has built a new supercomputer that can run up to 300 times faster than existing systems. The new computer, known as Maxwell, runs on field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) in place of conventional microprocessors, and consumes ten times less power than conventional computers to model real-world industrial applications. Maxwell has already been used for intensive applications in the oil and gas, financial and medical imaging sectors, and it has been hailed by its creators as the first of a new generation of compact, energy-efficient computers.

In the renewable energy sector, Danish company Gaia-Wind has established a new base at Hillington Park Innovation Centre in Glasgow, from where it will market its domestic wind turbines. The company makes 18-metre-tall turbines that are targeted at farms, remote businesses and rural homes, and already has 150 installations to its name, mainly in Denmark. Gaia plans to sell 20 turbines this year and to expand its reach into the Scottish and UK markets.

Two major laser technology businesses have merged to create a powerful global producer of high-power single emitters, bars and stacks and individually addressable laser arrays for a wide range of users. Intense Ltd, based in Scotland, has agreed a merger with High Power Devices Inc, based in North Brunswick, New Jersey. Intense Ltd produces monolithic laser array products for the global print and imaging markets, while High Power Devices Inc develops high-power laser products for the industrial, defence and medical markets. The merged companies will continue to operate both from Scotland the US.

City of London leads the way for investors
Canton Property Investment of China has chosen to list on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM), rather than seek a listing closer to home in Hong Kong. AIM is a "faster and easier alternative" for Chinese start-up firms looking to raise capital, according to Charles Li Tak-kwong, chief executive of UK corporate finance specialist Libertas Capital, in an interview with the South China Morning Post. "AIM needs only four to five months of preparation. In Hong Kong, it takes a new listing candidate 12 to 18 months to be vetted and approved by the stock exchange and the Securities and Futures Commission," he said, predicting that more Chinese firms were likely to follow in Canton's footsteps.

Earlier in August, AIM ranked as the most successful international growth market, attracting more listings than all its global rivals combined. The number of companies listed on AIM grew from 1,399 in 2005 to 1,643 in 2006, according to accountants Grant Thorntons, and the total value of companies mushroomed by 80 per cent. Of the 41 growth markets worldwide, NASDAQ in the US saw listings fall in 2006, while exchanges such as Singapore's SESDAQ and Indonesia's Indonext experienced only modest growth.

Investment agency Think London has joined forces with the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) to establish a representative office in Seoul, the South Korean capital. The joint office will be based at the Korean Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and will be led by Mr Seo Young Ho. London and the South East are already home to over 150 Korean investors, including Samsung, LG, Kia Motors and NCSoft. In 2006, the region attracted 21 per cent of all Korean FDI projects into Europe, making it the most popular European destination for Korean investors.

British law firms based in the City of London dominate the global legal market, according to new research from Legal Business magazine. Its survey of the world's top law firms showed that nine UK law firms made the global top 50, and that British law firms accounted for five of the six largest worldwide. The big UK firms saw impressive increases in income in 2006/07, with profits per partner up by 12 per cent and partners regularly earning more than $2 million a year. Billings at the world's biggest firm, Clifford Chance, grew by 22 per cent to $2.268 billion, at Linklaters they were up by 26 per cent to $2.126 billion, while Freshfield Bruckhaus Deringer reported a 20 per cent increase to $1.9 billion. The highest-billing US law firm was New York-based Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, which billed $1.85 billion, up 15 per cent on the previous year.

A new metropolitan wi-fi network has been launched in London, giving free wi-fi access to businesses and the public along a 22km stretch of the River Thames, in return for accepting advertising content. The free-hotspot.com group and wi-fi network infrastructure company MeshHopper have joined forces to launch the 256Kbps online-4-free.com network; MeshHopper launched the paid-for 500 Kbps Thames Online wi-fi-network last year in the same area of the capital, which stretches from Millbank in central London to Greenwich in the south east. Users get free access if they agree to view a 15-30 second advert every 15 minutes; otherwise they are charged a range of different hourly or monthly tariffs. The network was due to be extended to 36km in August. A free city-wide wi-fi network was launched last summer in Norwich, Eastern England, supported by the local council, and the launch of a similar service in Manchester was planned for August.
 

IP initiative aims to streamline patent process in UK and Japan
A new 12-month pilot scheme has been launched with the aim of speeding up patent processing applications in the UK and Japan. The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) will allow patent applicants who have received an examination report from either the UK Intellectual Property Office (UK-IPO) or the Japan Patent Office (JPO) to request accelerated examination of a corresponding patent application filed in the other country.

Mr Nakajima, Commissioner of the JPO, said: "The PPH is a significant step in the cooperative efforts of Japan and the UK to streamline patent prosecution and support Japanese and UK industries to acquire patents throughout the world. The initiative between the two countries is expected to further contribute to the realisation of a global patent prosecution highway network."

The development of work-sharing arrangements between the UK-IPO and other national patent offices was one of the key recommendations of the recent Gowers Review of Intellectual Property. The UK-IPO is already discussing the possibility of a similar pilot with the US Patent and Trademark Office, to be launched later this year.

Meanwhile the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) has set up a creative industries forum to help SMEs register and protect their intellectual property (IP). Despite the importance of IP, few smaller companies register theirs - not, says ACCA, because they fail to recognise what it is (as the government claims), but because they are deterred by the time and cost involved in the registration process.

Accordingly, says ACCA, the focus needs to shift to how to value, protect and raise finance out of IP. The creative industries forum, which includes ACCA members with direct involvement in the creative industries, including film and music, sets out to suggest practical ways of achieving this. In particular, ACCA recommends that the government should provide SMEs with more support during the registration process, particularly for patent development; that a system should be established that allows SMEs to enforce their IP (along the lines of the Export Guarantee Scheme); and that a template should be developed in collaboration with banks that puts a value on IP to a company.
 

Technology and innovation projects to drive economic growth
The government's new Technology Strategy Board (TSB), supported by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS), will target funding of $380 million this year to support technology and innovation projects with the aim of driving economic growth. The funding includes $14 million for the Intelligent Transport Systems and Services Innovation Platform to develop new solutions for road congestion. Other projects include work to develop bacteria-based vaccines that can be taken by mouth; research to enable diesel engines to run efficiently on high concentrations of renewable fuels; and the development of medical scanners that can use wavelengths more effectively to diagnose and treat cancer. The TSB is responsible for various Innovation Platforms that aim to bring business and government together to find solutions to major societal challenges, and for 22 sector-specific Knowledge Transfer Networks (KTNs).

Cranfield University, in Eastern England, has signed a collaboration agreement with Boeing to create an Integrated Vehicle Health Management (IVHM) Centre of Excellence at the university site. Boeing has invested to help set up the centre, and its Phantom Works advanced R&D unit will be actively involved. Cranfield - which is the UK's premier postgraduate, research-intensive university - is seeking further core partners to move the project on to the next stage. The Centre of Excellence will have dedicated areas for R&D in IVHM, and direct high-speed communication will link Cranfield's testing and hardware laboratories with those of partner organisations and industry test partners around the globe.

Oxford Innovation's network of Innovation Centres has expanded to South Yorkshire. The latest Centre to open is the Innovation Technology Centre (ITC), a $19.5 million environmentally efficient building owned by RDA Yorkshire Forward and located on the Advanced Manufacturing Park near Sheffield. Oxford Innovation is the UK's leading operator of Innovation Centres, with 14 such facilities around the UK. It provides flexible workshop, office and laboratory space to over 350 companies in sectors such as ICT, healthcare, engineering, new media and environmental technologies. The ITC in South Yorkshire has already attracted 12 growing companies.

The UK's newest university, the University of Cumbria, was launched on 1 August, backed by $40 million in funding from the government and development agencies in North West England. The University has been formed through the merger of the existing St Martins College, the Cumbria Institute of the Arts in Carlisle and two Cumbrian campuses of the University of Central Lancashire. "The University of Cumbria is a new kind of institution with distributed campuses designed to meet the diverse needs of learners in rural and urban locations," said Professor David Eastwood, chief executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), which provided half of the funding for the new institution.

The University of East Anglia (UEA) in Eastern England, meanwhile, has launched the world's first MBA course in Strategic Carbon Management. The one-year full-time course is led by the UEA's Norwich Business School and is aimed at businesses, entrepreneurs, policy-makers, regulators and non-government organisations (NGOs).


New funding to boost freight transport
The Department for Transport (DfT) has announced new funding grants of more than $40 million to support freight transport in the UK. The bulk of this, $37 million, will be provided through the Transport Improvement Fund to enhance the Gospel Oak to Barking railway line in north-east London. The line will be upgraded to enable it to transport more goods from key ports in the South East, and also so that it can be used as an alternative route for freight trains during upcoming maintenance works on the North London Line.

The remainder will go to five different infrastructure schemes under the Freight Facilities Grant (FFG) scheme. The funding, awarded to three different companies, will be used to upgrade facilities at Tolworth goods yard in Greater London, Brierley Hill in Birmingham, Southampton Docks on the south coast, Barry Docks in South Wales and the Port of Heysham in North West England. Collectively, the improvement schemes will remove 39 million lorry kilometres from the road network over the next ten years.

A new roll-on roll-off (ro-ro) ferry service has been introduced between Harwich International Port in Eastern England and Ostend in Belgium. The new route, operated by RoRoCo nv, will initially operate with a single ferry, offering a daily morning service. An additional ferry will soon be deployed on the route and an evening service will also be offered, giving an eventual total of 11 sailings per week in each direction.
 

Regional News
Nissan Motor Co of Japan has officially opened a new field quality centre (FQC) at the Nissan Technical Centre Europe, located in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, Eastern England. The new facility, built at a cost of $6.13 million, will play a leading role in improving product quality across Europe, and will also centralise responsibilities previously handled by centres dispersed throughout the continent. The centre will have a total staff of 46, as well as guest engineers from supplier partners who will work with the FQC to improve parts quality and address concerns raised by customers. It will work closely with a new FQC in Kanagawa, Japan, as well as with two existing facilities in the US, to enhance the company's global quality standards.

Japan's Sumitomo Chemical Company is to acquire Cambridge Display Technology (CDT), based in Cambridge, Eastern England, in a deal subject to stockholder and regulatory approvals. Sumitomo Chemical acquired a licence to intellectual property from CDT in 2001, and in 2005 the two companies formed a 50/50 joint venture to develop polymer-based light-emitting diode (P-OLED) technology. The acquisition demonstrates Sumitomo's commitment to developing P-OLED technology which, according to David Fyfe, chairman and CEO of CDT, "is looking ever more likely to become the next mainstream display technology". Hiromasa Yonekura, president of Sumitomo Chemical, said: "OLEDs are expected to see considerable market growth in the future as next-generation materials for flat panel displays and lighting applications, and our company is actively engaged in the development of new materials and the improvement of device technologies."

Swedish telecoms giant Ericsson is to build a new $120 million R&D centre at Ansty, near Coventry in the West Midlands. It plans to employ 650 staff at the new centre, which is due to open in 2009. The company, which took over a major part of the former Marconi operation last year, will move its current operation at New Century Park in Coventry and some staff from Beeston in Nottinghamshire to the new site, where it plans to erect two new buildings measuring 100,000 sq ft in total. Local development agencies hope that Ericsson's move will help to kickstart development at the 90-acre Ansty site, which was formerly a Rolls-Royce production plant. Indian conglomerate Tata has been linked with the site, and there are plans for a health technology park.

Lone Star Fasteners, a Houston, Texas-based manufacturer of industrial fasteners, gaskets and precision-machined components, has opened a new manufacturing facility in Leeds, Yorkshire and Humber. Lone Star LWD Precision Engineering Ltd will be based at the Airedale Industrial Estate in Hunslet, and represents the company's latest investment in the region, following its acquisitions of Grange Gaskets Bradford Ltd in 2006 and of Leeds-based LWD Precision Engineering Ltd in 2007. The acquisitions have created a strong business amalgamated in Leeds, operating in the oil, gas, chemical and petrochemical industries. The company has been closely supported by RDA Yorkshire Forward in setting up the new operation, and is also working with the Manufacturing Advisory Service.

Fugro Seacore Ltd, a leading UK marine engineering company recently acquired by Dutch group Fugro NV, is moving in September to a new seven-acre site at Falmouth in Cornwall, South West England. The new $12 million premises at the Bickland Industrial Estate have been funded by local and European development agencies, and will be leased from the South West RDA. Seacore employs 180 staff and is involved in a range of marine drilling and construction projects around the world; one recent project involved drilling pile foundations for the new Upper Forth Crossing at Kincardine in Scotland. Previously known as Seacore, the company was renamed Fugro Seacore in April 2006, when it was acquired by Fugro NV, the world's largest integrated geotechnical, survey and geosciences company.

JSW Steel of India has acquired Argent Independent Steel, based in Newport, South Wales, for $7.5 million. Argent was formed in 2006 following a management buyout of ThyssenKrupp Service Centre UK. The plant processes hot rolled, cold rolled, close annealed, galvanised and colour-coated steel coils for the automotive and construction industries, and is strategically located just 2km from the city's seaport. The acquisition will give JSW Steel expertise in the UK steel service centre business, and allow it to consolidate and widen its presence in European automotive and construction markets.

Also in Newport, Irish company Quinn Therm has submitted plans for a 900,000 sq ft manufacturing plant to produce next-generation insulation products for the construction industry. If approved, the new investment will create 340 jobs covering engineering, skilled professional and management functions, along with 100 in the supply chain for products and services. This will be the Quinn Group's second major investment in Newport in the past two years, after it set up its Quinn Radiators European manufacturing operation at Imperial Park. Liam McCaffruy, chief executive of the Quinn Group, said: "Our experience at Newport has encouraged us to co-locate this new plant here, and we are confident that this winning combination will enable us to make inroads into the UK and European markets."

Quinn Radiators, Imperial Park, Newport

A multi-million dollar investment by the Bank of Ireland Group is to create 149 new hedge fund management jobs in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Bank of Ireland has 44 branches and eight business centres in Northern Ireland, employing 1,300 staff. The group's chief executive, Brian Goggin, said: "Our decision to locate in Belfast reflects the quality of professional people available in the marketplace. We also have strong links with the universities in the region as a result of co-placement programmes." Invest Northern Ireland has offered support of over $4 million towards the initiative.

A new leadership organisation has been created in Scotland to bring together the many different agencies and industry groups working in the country's food and drink sector. Scotland Food and Drink is a public-private partnership that aims to combine expertise across the supply chain, in an industry that is worth more than $14 billion annually. By pooling the knowledge and resources of farmers and fishermen, processors and distillers, researchers, educators and public sector agencies, it is hoped that the initiative will help to boost the industry's value to $20 billion by 2017.

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