April 2009

NEWS

Bank of England cuts rates again and boosts money supply

The Bank of England cut interest rates to 0.5 per cent in early March – a new all-time low – and pledged to boost money supply to help revive the economy. The latest cut, from February’s 1 per cent, was widely expected and brings to six the number of times interest rates have been reduced since October 2008. Under a policy known as quantitative easing, the Bank also said that it would expand the amount of money in circulation by $108.75 billion in an attempt to stimulate bank lending. Chancellor Alistair Darling has given it permission to extend this to up to $217.5 billion if necessary. Rather than simply printing money, the Bank will expand money supply by buying assets such as government securities (known as gilts) and corporate bonds. The Bank has been able to cut interest rates because inflation has fallen, largely due to lower energy costs. Official figures showed that consumer prices index (CPI) inflation fell for the fourth month in succession in January, to 3 per cent from 3.1 per cent in December, although this remains above the government’s target of 2 per cent. Mr Darling said that increasing the supply of money was “absolutely essential” in order for the UK to recover from the recession, while acknowledged that the latest rate cut would be a blow to savers.

Bank Governor Mervyn King said: “Nothing in life is ever certain, but these measures we think will work in the long term. I don’t know how long it will take; much depends on the situation in the rest of the world. But if countries work together, these measures will I believe eventually work.” He acknowledged, however, that with interest rates close to zero the Bank had had to take additional, unorthodox measures to prevent a slide into deflation.

Officials hope that quantitative easing will work both by raising the price of gilts, so reducing borrowing costs across the economy, and by increasing the money in the system available to be spent or lent by banks. In an early sign of success, the launch of the policy saw some of the country’s biggest investment groups eager to sell government bonds to the Bank of England. The Bank paid close to the market price for six bonds with maturities ranging from five to nine years, despite worries that it might be forced to pay above market rates, as investors demanded a large premium. Alarm bells rang later in the month when an issue of 40-year government gilts was undersubscribed, the first time this had happened in seven years. However, demand in a similar auction the following day was strong and observers believed this to be a temporary blip.

London remains top financial centre despite global downturn
London is still the world’s top financial centre despite the world economic downturn, according to the latest Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI). The six-monthly survey, which tracks the underlying competitiveness of world financial hubs, is published by the City of London Corporation. GFCI 5, the fifth edition of the report, shows that financial centres worldwide are suffering as a result of the recession; with all 62 centres monitored seeing their ratings fall since the last survey in September 2008. However, London and New York remain in first and second place respectively. As in previous GFCI reports, respondents rated the quality of the business environment – especially regulation and taxation – as the most important factor for a centre’s competitiveness.

GFCI 5 incorporated 308 new respondents since GFCI 4, giving an overall total of 26,629 centre assessments, weighted towards the most recent. The latest version of the survey reflects the recent global economic turbulence: for the first time, all centres saw their ratings fall (by an average of over 20 points), reflecting overall negativity about the current and future state of the sector. This was a significant change from GFCI 4, where only 10 centres dropped in the ratings and over half experienced rises in their ratings.

The magnitude of these decreases was particularly severe towards the lower end of the rankings, with an average drop of 40 points for the bottom ten centres, compared with an average fall of nine points for the top ten. Reflecting the greater stability at the top of the rankings, the leading six centres remained in the same positions as in the last survey. London retained first place with a small lead over New York, although the average assessments of New York were slightly higher than those of London. The gap between the top two centres and third-placed Singapore widened slightly, while Hong Kong, Zurich and Geneva all retained their positions from last year.

The degree of volatility in the GFCI 5 assessments displayed evidence of great uncertainty about the global economy, according to the authors. This seems to have led to a “flight to safety” with greater faith placed in the leading, established, financial centres than in less-established and emerging ones. The fact that all centres declined, however, illustrated the fact that there is no safe port in the current financial storm, they concluded.

There was a high degree of volatility and uncertainty in the ratings, reflecting uncertainty among financial services professionals. In particular, there was uncertainty about markets and assets and about which financial centres will prosper in the future. In this climate, responses to the GFCI questionnaire indicated a mood of greater loyalty towards home centres. London was rated most negatively by respondents in New York, followed by respondents in offshore centres. It was viewed most positively by respondents in North American centres other than New York, and by respondents in Asia. While the GFCI model controls for ‘home bias’, the assessments showed that respondents in London rated London 10 points (out of 1,000) higher than the global average.

The authors concluded that London and New York remain the only two genuinely ‘global’ financial centres, and are inextricably interdependent – whilst competing with one another, they are mutually supportive. The main threats to both are perceived to be regulatory knee-jerk reactions to the credit crunch and the economic losses from the crunch and from national recessions. The UK financial services sector’s contribution has grown steadily in recent years, making up almost 8 per cent of the economy’s gross value added.

Commenting on the GFCI 5 report, Lord Mayor of the City of London Ian Luder said: “This research confirms that the financial services industry in countries around the world has been seriously damaged by the crisis. Our task now is to climb out of the despair and to restore a sense of proportion and reality. We need to move to the reconstruction phase immediately.” Mayor of London Boris Johnson commented: “I want all international businesses to look to London as the place to be and do business in, with excellent access to the global marketplace. Its environment means that it is a great location for companies and their employees, and we are ready to help anyone who wants to set up business here.”

London remains a top destination for sovereign wealth funds (SWFs), according to a new report from International Financial Service London (IFSL). The report shows that the value of assets under management in SWF vehicles rose by 18 per cent during 2008, increasing to $3.9 trillion. IFSL noted that London has become an international hub for SWFs due to a regulatory, competitive and national security framework that makes it an attractive destination for overseas investment. Funds from territories such as Kuwait, Brunei, Abu Dhabi and Singapore have established a presence in the city, while the China Investment Corporation is also considering a base there. Marko Maslakovic, senior economist at IFSL, commented: “London is an important centre for SWFs both as a clearing house for transactions and a location from which some funds are managed.” Another recent report from IFSL suggested that Britain has become an international centre for Islamic finance and is Western Europe’s leading destination for the industry.

Birmingham stakes claim as global financial centre
A separate report, from international property consultant Cushman & Wakefield, shows that London is no longer the world’s most expensive office location, for the first time in nine years. The UK capital dropped to third place in the global rankings for 2009 behind Hong Kong and Tokyo, according to C&W’s ‘Office Space Across the World 2009’ report. This was due to a large decline in rents and the influence of property values on currency fluctuations. Prime office rents in the West End of London have fallen by 23 per cent, said the report, although it remains the most expensive office location in Europe. Dublin, the Irish capital, has also seen a big decline in rents, falling out of the top ten to 15th place, while the Syrian capital Damascus rose to eighth. New York’s Midtown remained in tenth place, the same as last year. Globally, rents rose by 3 per cent last year, the lowest global growth rate since 2004 and down significantly on 2008, when they increased by 14 per cent.

London is not the UK’s only globally attractive financial hub, however, as evidenced by the decision of global investment bank Deutsche Bank to set up offices in Birmingham in the West Midlands. The bank’s plans for Birmingham are part of a global strategy to create a series of globally connected operating centres to support its processing needs. Birmingham is the fourth city to be run under what is known as the DBOI Global Services operating model, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bank. The purpose of these centres is to provide Deutsche Bank with flexible choices on how to support business areas: for example, support services can be provided from ‘near-shore’ offices such as Birmingham and Jacksonville (Florida), as well as offshore offices in India and the Philippines. The initial area to be supported is investment banking operations, although the scope will be expanded to cover to all aspects of the bank’s operations.

DBOI Global Services’s new operational processing centre will occupy nearly 69,000 sq ft of space at 1 Brindleyplace in Birmingham city centre, and is expected to employ around 550 permanent staff by early 2010. It will join a wide range of banking and financial services companies already present in the West Midlands. These include all of the four key British banks (Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group and RBS-NatWest); mid-tier providers such as AIB, Bank of Ireland and NAB/Yorkshire Bank; and investment banks and specialist providers such as N M Rothschild & Co, Islamic Bank of Britain, Arbuthnot Banking, Goldman Sachs and Unity Trust Bank.

London Business School MBA programmes ranked top in the world
The London Business School has achieved a ‘double first’ in the annual rankings of business schools by the Financial Times, with both its MBA programme and EMBA programme ranked number one in the world. The institution’s MBA programme was ranked joint number one in the world alongside University of Pennsylvania, Wharton and first in Europe in the FT listings, and is one of only three schools to have held the number one spot since the rankings began a decade ago.

In particular the MBA report, published in January, highlighted the global nature of the school, with specific reference to the high proportion of international students (91 per cent) and international faculty (84 per cent). In the Financial Times Executive MBA rankings, published in October 2008, the school’s EMBA programme, run in partnership with Columbia University, also ranked as the best in the world, having moved up three places since 2006 to take the number one position.

Professor Sir Andrew Likierman, Dean of the London Business School said: “This is an outstanding result and I would like to thank everyone in, and associated with, the School who have helped us achieve these rankings. It is a further example of strong performance across our programme portfolio. Such rankings cannot be definitive statements of quality, but they do provide independent evidence about our progress in striving to achieve our vision of becoming the pre-eminent global business school.”

Sabine Vinck, associate dean of MBA and MiF programmes, added: “Of the top ten schools, we have the highest percentage of international students, the highest international mobility ranking and the highest international experience ranking. It is this diverse, global outlook which sets us apart from the competition and is key to the London Business School experience.

Regulator clears the way for superfast broadband
Telecoms regulator Ofcom has given operator BT Group approval to proceed with plans for a $2.2 billion superfast, fixed-line broadband network. The watchdog said it had cleared the way for superfast broadband investments by outlining a regulatory regime that would enable companies to secure adequate returns on their investments. BT, the UK’s leading fixed-line phone company, announced plans for the network last July, but said it would not proceed unless it could secure an adequate return. Its plans have been based on the ability to charge wholesale fees to rivals that want to offer broadband services over the superfast network. Under the proposed regulatory regime, said Ofcom, companies such as BT would be free to price wholesale superfast broadband products themselves without any regulatory intervention.

The new network, which BT hopes to roll out to at least 40 per cent of UK households by 2012, should enable download speeds of between 40MB and 100MB per second. Superfast broadband will enable multiple users in a single home to engage in high-bandwidth activities simultaneously, such as watching high-definition television or playing interactive games online. Ed Richards, Ofcom chief executive, said: “Our message is clear: there are no regulatory barriers in the way of investment in superfast broadband; we want to promote investment but also ensure that there is fair and effective competition for the future.”

Meanwhile Derry in Northern Ireland is to house part of a new transatlantic telecommunications link. Hibernia Atlantic will invest $42.6 million to build the ‘telehouse’, a connection for different networks that will provide the province with a direct link to North America and improved ties with Europe. A cable landing point for the service will be constructed in Coleraine, Co Londonderry. According to Northern Ireland Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster, the scheme, named Project Kelvin, will deliver many benefits to local businesses and will attract investors. “Each location will have the same comparable costs, speed of service and infrastructure resilience. These are not dependent on the location of the telehouse and therefore will provide an entirely level playing field,” she commented.

Elsewhere in the digital sector, two business initiatives supporting companies in North East England have received $2.9 million of fresh funding. Codeworks Connect, a trade association for digital companies based in the region, and Codeworks GameHorizon, a collaborative network of video games companies, have secured the investment from Regional Development Agency (RDA) One North East and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). They will use it to grow their membership, open up trading opportunities and support over 500 businesses by 2011. The project will also contribute to Sunderland Software City’s drive to develop the software sub-sector cluster.

Codeworks Connect will use the funding to increase its network to 450 regional members, while seeking to include more software companies and IT managers and buyers. It will sponsor 15 proof of concept, software design and creative fund applications, raising $1.45 million of funding for SMEs and sourcing $8.7 million of business leads. Both Codeworks Connect and Codeworks GameHorizon offer a range of services to businesses in the North East, including networking events, workshops and public relations support. Collectively, Codeworks represents the largest regional network of digital businesses in the UK.

Data centre operators plug in to UK expertise
A European technology specialist has gained planning permission to build the UK’s largest data centre in Buckinghamshire, South East England. e-Shelter, based in Frankfurt, Germany, has completed the purchase of a 50-acre site in Saunderton near High Wycombe, which will provide global businesses with space to deliver data services and manage internal technology processes. The company is aiming to finish the first stages of development by the second quarter of 2010. The facility will cover an area of 829,000 sq ft when completed and will adhere to strict industry environmental regulations. According to Phillip Lydford, chief executive of e-Shelter UK, the company has ambitious plans for the region. e-Shelter is the largest data centre provider in Europe and its customers are primarily financial organisations, telecoms operators and IT service providers.

US telecoms giant AT&T, America’s second largest phone company, is to invest $1 billion in Europe in 2009 to expand its global network and provide new services for businesses. The plans include new internet data centres in London and Amsterdam, as well as new fibre-optic cables under the Atlantic Ocean to extend its reach to seven more markets in Europe – Austria, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Poland, Russia and Slovakia. Tom Regent, the group’s vice-president for Europe, said: “The increased data centre hosting capacity in the UK, coupled with the scaling of our synaptic hosting platform through our super internet data centre in the Netherlands, allows us to further accelerate the services we deliver to our customers doing business in Europe and to meet the increasing demand for ‘on demand’ applications.” Since 2006, AT&T has more than doubled its annual investment in its networks, upgrading them to handle more downloads of large files, such as video, in response to customers cutting back on spending on traditional phone calls.

Global banking giant HSBC is planning to build a $435 million data centre in York, Yorkshire and Humber, which promises to create hundreds of jobs. Council officers have recommended that the city authority’s planning committee give HSBC conditional approval for the complex on the Vangarde Business Park at Monks Cross. Reports claim that the move would be the largest single inward investment ever in York, creating 2,000 jobs during its two-year construction and a further 100 permanent jobs after its completion. The council also believes that the project will bring investment of up to $17.4 million in the city’s IT infrastructure, through the connection of two fibre-optic cable links to the site that could be utilised by local businesses. York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce said: “The data centre would represent an enormous and essential investment into the sub-region together with creating employment, both in construction and high-quality IT and engineering jobs.”

Leading business process outsourcing (BPO) company Gem is to create 900 new jobs in Northern Ireland by 2012. The company, based in Belfast, services global blue chip clients in a number of industry sectors, including retail, finance and travel. It currently employs 1,000 people at three sites, two in Belfast and one in Londonderry. The new jobs will be created in other locations, with staff handling accounts from the financial services, technology and retail sectors. According to managing director Philip Cassidy, the company expects to secure new business from the Republic of Ireland. “Gem has proved to be a home-grown success and we intend to continue to build on that. We also plan to maximise opportunities within the euro zone, which is why we have been extensively targeting the Republic,” he said. Gem largely recruits graduates from local universities, and the investment is being supported by an $8 million contribution from investment agency Invest Northern Ireland.

Also in Northern Ireland, French-owned call centre Teleperformance is expanding its operations in with the creation of 610 new jobs. The company, which offers business services to the international retail, banking, telecommunications, travel and health sectors, will expand its flagship Newry hub in Co Down with the help of a $4.4 million support grant from Invest NI. By the time all positions are filled, it expects to have 2,000 people based at its Newry and Bangor sites, making it one of the region’s largest employers. Jeff Smith, chairman and chief executive of Teleperformance, said: “As a customer service-focused business, the people we employ are the key to our success. Newry and Bangor have rapidly become a vital part of our UK network and I am confident that moving forward with this latest expansion, we will be able to attract a similar calibre of people to support our strategic growth plans, with Newry becoming our flagship centre in the UK.

Manchester Airport in North West England is hoping to boost regional growth by offering direct flights to more US cities. According to John Atkins, managing director of Manchester Airport Developments, Los Angeles, Boston and Miami are among the US cities being targeted. The airport is also looking to expand the number of flights to destinations in the Far East, such as Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur. Currently more than 100 airlines fly from Manchester to 200 destinations – 10 more than Heathrow – but the airport hopes to expand to accommodate growing passenger numbers, which are expected to more than double to 50 million a year by 2030.

Plans to build a new Airport City have also been unveiled, which would include the construction of space for retail, leisure, conference and commercial activities. It is believed that 5,000 jobs would be created in the development over the next 10-15 years. Colin Sinclair, chief executive of Manchester’s inward investment agency MIDAS, said: “Without growth in the airport we will not grow the economy. Inward investment is directly linked to long-haul air routes. We need to safeguard the routes we have, and attract new ones.”

Blackpool International Airport, also in the North West, has announced the first phase of major plans to invest in the airport’s infrastructure. A $1.45 million project to upgrade the existing runway and taxi-way facilities will be undertaken, allowing aircraft to reach destinations further afield in the eastern and southern Mediterranean. Blackpool International, which positions itself as the regional airport for Lancashire and the Lake District, has recently attracted two new airlines, Aer Arann and Flybe, which is operated by Loganair.

Bioscience firms capitalise on world-class expertise
US pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer is expanding its UK presence with a new laboratory in Cambridge, Eastern England. The company, which already has a facility at the city’s Granta Park, has taken on new space at the nearby Chesterford Research Park. Its latest expansion plan will see it grow its Granta operation, with 19,000 sq ft of extra laboratory facilities. The five-year rental agreement with Pfizer is the largest letting that Granta Park has seen in the past 12 months. The park is home to a number of leading international pharmaceutical firms, attracted by Cambridge’s reputation as one of the world’s leading academic and biotechnology centres. They include MedImmune, PPD, Gilead and TWI, Europe’s largest independent research and technology organisation specialising in materials and joining.

Meanwhile, a new technique to create stem cells without the need for human embryos is being pioneered by the Medical Research Council (MRC) Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. The breakthrough promises to revolutionise the treatment of diseases while removing the controversial ethical dimension from the process. In the new method, instead of using viruses to transport genes, an electric shock opens a temporary ‘gate’ in the cell membrane through which DNA fragments can pass. Another key aspect of the breakthrough, removing the genes after reprogramming, is the work of Canadian scientists from the University of Toronto.

Portuguese medical technology company Tomorrow Options is to establish a presence at the Bioincubator facility in Sheffield, Yorkshire and Humber, where it will develop sensory equipment for patients with diabetes. Paulo Ferreira dos Santos, the company’s chief executive, said: “The Tomorrow Options board made the unanimous decision to open in Sheffield over a number of other UK options, based on the wide range of incubator accommodation and support services available.” He highlighted the quality of research carried out at the city’s educational institutions and the company’s existing links to Sheffield Hallam University. It is hoped that more companies from Portugal will join Tomorrow Options in the area. Recently, a 14-strong inward investment delegation from Europe, the US, Japan and the Middle East visited Yorkshire to investigate opportunities in the region’s medical technology sector.

Another Portuguese company, Alert Life Sciences Computing, is to set up a new UK operation at the Birmingham Business Park in Solihull, West Midlands. The company develops touchscreen technology to manage hospital records and create a paper-free environment, and its new UK arm will have a six-strong sales and marketing team that will target the fast-growing IT clinical software sector. Alert, based in Porto, has an annual turnover of over $34 million. The company has doubled its revenue every year since it started up in 1999 and now employs more than 700 people worldwide. It won its first contract in the UK in December 2008 when Circle, Europe’s largest partnership of healthcare professionals, decided to implement the paper-free hospital system at its new Circle Private Hospital in Bath. It has also been appointed as an official supplier to the Additional Supply Capability and Capacity (ASCC) framework to supply IT services to the NHS.

Dr Richard Hutchins, corporate director for economic development at RDA Advantage West Midlands said: “Despite the economic downturn, the West Midlands remains an important hub of ICT activity in the UK, with around 51,000 people employed in over 8,500 firms – and the region is particularly strong in medical technologies. Alert UK is part of a world-class group which is full of ingenuity, innovation and passion for its product and we are looking forward to helping them with their business development plans.”

US pharmaceutical giant Wyeth is to run a new research centre in Aberdeen, Scotland that will develop treatments for life-threatening diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis. The multimillion-dollar Protein Therapeutics Laboratory, backed by investment agency Scottish Enterprise, is based at Aberdeen University’s Foresterhill campus. Wyeth vice-president Menelas Pangalos said: “Scotland’s excellence in the life sciences industry is recognised around the world. The research at this facility has the potential to pave the way for a new generation of protein therapeutics that address significant medical needs and offer promise for patients.”

Opening the centre, Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond said: “Life sciences is one of Scotland’s key industries, employing more than 30,000 people and contributing $4.4 billion to our economy, and it is growing 15 per cent faster than the average European growth rate. The presence in Scotland of Wyeth, one of the largest research-driven biopharmaceutical companies in the world, is testament to the skills, expertise and growth potential we offer.”

Another leading bioscience company, Life Technologies, is to buy a 20,000 sq ft manufacturing facility at Inchinnan Business Park in Renfrewshire, Scotland, where its European headquarters are already based, for $1.2 million. Life Technologies, which currently employs about 400 workers at the Renfrewshire site, last year merged with US rival Applied Biosystems in a $6.7 billion deal to create the world’s largest provider of research tools for the life sciences industry. Commentators believe that the latest decision could be a move towards the opening of a global research centre in Scotland, which would create around 500 jobs. Scottish Enterprise described the sale as a “huge boost to the Scottish life sciences industry”.


Government maps out industrial strategy for low-carbon future
Some 200 delegates from government, business, trade unions, industry bodies and environmental groups attended a Low Carbon Industrial Summit in London in early March, where the Government set out its plans for a new Low Carbon Industrial Strategy. Also present were Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Business Secretary Peter Mandelson and Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband, who mapped out industrial priorities for taking advantage of the new global low-carbon economy. This sector is currently estimated to be worth $4.4 trillion globally, while the UK’s ‘green’ goods and services sector is thought to be the sixth largest in the world, employing over 880,000 people.

The Low Carbon Industrial Strategy will aim for step change in four key areas: energy efficiency to save money for businesses, consumers and public services; putting in place energy infrastructure in renewables, nuclear, carbon capture and a ‘smart’ grid; making the UK a global leader in the development and production of low-carbon vehicles; and ensuring that skills, infrastructure, procurement, R&D, demonstration and deployment policies make the UK the best place to locate and develop a low-carbon business. Businesses are being asked for their input to inform a final strategy to be published before the summer.

Lord Mandelson said: “Low carbon is not a sector of our economy, it is, or will be, our whole economy, and a global market. … A low-carbon industrial strategy must seize the opportunities that will come with change. That requires a new industrial activism for a new green industrial revolution.” Ed Miliband added: “The shift to low carbon in the UK, and around the world is now largely inevitable. What is not inevitable is that Britain benefits industrially from the transition. We want to mobilise every bit of expertise and ingenuity that Britain has to offer.”

New independent research by Innovas shows that the low carbon and environmental goods and services (LCEGS) economy was worth $155 billion to the UK economy in 2007/08, and that this could grow by another $65 billion over the next decade. There are already over 880,000 jobs in the sector (when the supply chain is included) and an additional 400,000 jobs could be created in the next ten years. Within the sector, just under a third (31 per cent) of overall activity is in manufacturing.

Meanwhile businesses and other large organisations are preparing for the introduction of the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC), which the Government hopes will help businesses save money and cut their carbon emissions by reducing their energy use. The CRC will be a mandatory, auction-based emissions trading scheme for large, non-energy-intensive businesses and public sector organisations using more than 6,000 MWh of electricity per year. The Government aims to begin the CRC in April 2010, and claims that by 2020 it will deliver emissions reductions of 4.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. The Department of Energy and Climate Change has published a new guide to help organisations establish whether they are covered by the scheme and what they will have to do to comply.

The revenue raised from the scheme will be recycled back to participants on the basis of a league table, so that those who are making most improvements will be financially rewarded. The Government is already providing advice and financial incentives to help businesses take practical steps to improve their energy efficiency through the Carbon Trust and Climate Change Agreements. Energy and Climate Change Minister Joan Ruddock said: “Cutting back on energy use and becoming more energy-efficient makes economic sense for firms at the best of times, but it’s even more important now given the difficult business environment.”

Regional news
Plans for a $1.45 billion retail and office development in central London have been given the go-ahead, in a scheme which could create 8,500 jobs. The Victoria Transport Interchange development, one of the largest planning applications ever received by Westminster City Council, has been granted permission to create offices, shops and more than 200 flats. The council said that the first phase of project, set to begin in autumn 2010, will create more than 1,200 jobs while demolition and construction is carried out, with a further 7,200 created once the development is completed, initially thought to be in 2017. Developer Land Securities is also set to work with Transport for London to help upgrade Victoria Station. A proposal for the development, which extends from Buckingham Palace Road in the west to Bressenden Place in the north and Victoria Street, had to be revised as it was thought that the height of one of the buildings would damage the city’s skyline. The scaled-back scheme covers six acres and is made up of six buildings, the tallest of which is now 86 metres, 20 metres below the height of the tallest existing building in the area.

The University of the West of England in Bristol is launching a new 65-space business incubator called UWE Ventures in Bush House, in the city’s Harbourside area. Bush House, already recognised as a creative hub, is home to UWE’s illustration students and to the Arnolfini gallery. Also in Bristol, a $4.4 million refurbishment of five floors of Castlemead, the city’s tallest office building, has been completed. Castlemead, located in the heart of the city, comprises 19 storeys of offices, making it one of Bristol’s landmark buildings. Work meanwhile is under way on Finzels Reach, a mixed-use scheme of homes and offices on the site of a former brewery. The 1 million sq ft development will form a new city quarter containing shops, cafés and bars, leisure facilities, offices and 399 apartments. The first residential phase is scheduled for completion in summer 2010. Work is also progressing on new HQ buildings for law firm Burges Salmon and stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown. Burges Salmon will occupy 160,000 sq ft of a new building at Temple Quay Central, while Hargreaves Lansdown will move 900 staff into a $43.5 million, 100,000 sq ft building in the Harbourside district.

Work has begun to transform the historic Gosford Gate area of Coventry in the West Midlands into a trading gateway and a centre for creative enterprises. Refurbishment work at the former Hand and Heart pub and adjoining 14th century Grade II listed buildings on Far Gosford Street marks the start of the first phase of a $3.2 million scheme. Redevelopment of the area will include a new hotel, offices and business space, improvements to the fabric of historic buildings, and re-use of vacant or derelict sites, together with re-use of old industrial estate to create a hub for creative enterprises. Henriette Lyttle Breukelaar, Partnerships Director at Advantage West Midlands, one of the organisations backing the project, said: “These public-private investments will create essential grow-on space and high-quality office space to attract new, high-value small and medium-sized enterprises to the area. This will help to retain high growth-businesses emerging from Coventry University’s incubation facilities, particularly in the growing creative sector.”

Cables to Go, a leading US manufacturer of computer and audio-video cables, is expanding into Europe by opening a sales, marketing and warehouse base at Telford in Shropshire, West Midlands. The company currently employs seven people at a 15,000 sq ft facility at Hortonwood, selling connectivity solutions to corporate users and consumers via technology resellers and IT distributors. Headquartered in Moraine, Ohio, it has revenues in excess of $100 million, with more than 1,000 employees in five countries worldwide. Bill Diederich, the company’s president, said: “We have a fledgling team in the market right now, and our goal is to expand that team significantly over the years, as we gain market share in England and the rest of Europe.” Cables to Go selected the West Midlands region largely because of its central location at the heart of the UK and its good transport links.

Urban regeneration company North Northants Development Company (NNDC) has announced that funding is in place to develop a $12 million enterprise centre at Corby, in the East Midlands. Following a development competition, a new site and design have been chosen for the 43,000 sq ft Corby Enterprise Centre. It will be located at Priors Hall, an urban extension to the northeast of Corby that is already home to the new $43.5 million Corby Business Academy. It is expected that work will begin on the site in late summer 2009, pending detailed planning consent. The building will provide 32,000 sq ft of office, workshop and studio space, offering flexible workspace to let for start-ups and small businesses. Plans also allow for future expansion of the development into a second phase on an adjacent plot, which would provide an additional 30,000 sq ft of office space.

TTP Group plc, Europe’s leading independent technology development and incubation company, and LingVitae Holding AS, a Scandinavian genomic company, are setting up a new company, Plarion Ltd, on TTP Group’s Melbourn Science Park in Cambridgeshire, Eastern England. The new company has acquired technology and assets from Plasmon Ltd, which went into administration last year. The new venture, Plarion, will supply consultancy and product development services related to optical media manufacturing and test systems, and will be looking for other opportunities to apply these skills in optical surfaces, microstructure manufacturing and testing in other industries. Plarion’s CEO, Bob Longman, said: “Our employees have a track record of successful product development built over the last fifteen years and I expect to broaden the application of the skills through our association with TTP.”

The Institute of Food Research (IFR), based on the Norwich Research Park in Eastern England, has been ranked second in the world for the impact of its research in the area of agricultural and food sciences, according to an independent survey of published research papers over the past ten years. Data taken from the Thomson Reuters’ Essential Science Indicators database and published in Times Higher Education showed that IFR published 471 original research papers in the broad area of agricultural sciences (including food science, food chemistry and nutrition) during 1998–2008, and that these were cited almost 7,000 times by other researchers. This made IFR the highest-ranked European institution, ahead of other prestigious institutions such as Wageningen University in the Netherlands (12th) and INRA in France (ninth). IFR is an institute of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, and undertakes scientific research relevant to food and human health, the outcomes of which feed into national and international strategies for the UK Government, public sector bodies, regulatory authorities, industry and consumers.

Some $72.5 million worth of new property developments are due to be built in Bradford, Yorkshire and Humber, during 2009. Four new building schemes have been unveiled for the city’s urban centre, which will create a range of new office, retail, leisure and residential space. Developer the Property Group will build a $21.6 million office building in the professional quarter of the city and a 100-bed hotel. Managing partner Kerry Tomlinson said: “What we recognise in Bradford is a city that is moving forward through its regeneration, which brings with it exciting potential for development.” Other projects planned include a new 1,000-capacity student village to be built in the centre of Bradford.

Delegates from the Nanjing Science and Technology Bureau in Jiangsu province, China travelled to Gateshead in North East England in March for the official opening of the European office of a growing Chinese drug development company. Signalway Antibody (SAB) UK Co. Ltd, the UK subsidiary of Nanjing-based antibody manufacturer Nanjing Chuanbo Biotech Ltd, is based at the city’s International Business Centre. Set up in December 2008, SAB UK is working with local partners on a joint venture to develop advanced healthcare products for new and emerging global markets, such as personalised medicine. Last October saw the opening of the Shanghai International Business Incubator at the International Business Centre, which assists fledgling high-tech Chinese firms looking to invest in the North East. Local RDA One North East has been building relationships with Nanjing and Jiangsu since signing a memorandum of understanding with the Jiangsu Science and Technology Commission in 2004 to develop links in business, education, government, research and culture.

Another Chinese company, Galanz, is to set up its UK headquarters in Manchester, North West England. The company, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of home electrical appliances, has made several visits to the UK over the past two years to establish the best location for its new base, assisted by the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) and UK Trade & Investment (UKTI). Galanz has already employed a UK representative and, once a location is set up in Manchester, will take on up to 10 additional staff. The company currently manufactures under licence to major companies worldwide and will look to expand its business range into the UK market.

California-based IT company Infogain has invested $725,000 in new offices in Oxford Street in central Manchester, and anticipates sales worth $1.45 million in its first year. Mark Collin, Infogain’s vice-president Europe, said: “Harnessing the complementary expertise that exists in Greater Manchester is important to us. We aim to grow the business, expand our management team and be in position to source industry consultants, development managers and project personnel locally.” The company has already signed working partnerships with eSAY, a Greater Manchester mobile software company, and QA, an Altrincham-based training company. Both underline Infogain’s determination to become a major IT player in the retail, high-tech, transport and manufacturing sectors.

French bakery company PV France has chosen Anglesey in North Wales as the location for its new UK base, having outgrown its existing premises in Merseyside. The company will relocate to a 25,000 sq ft factory at Bryn Cefni Business Park, Llangefni, creating more than 100 new jobs, after securing backing from the Welsh Assembly Government’s Single Investment Fund. Patrick Fery, managing director of PV France, said that Llangefni’s good transport links and its proximity to the company’s markets in Ireland also influenced the choice. The business, which makes French bread and patisserie for the fast-growing British market, is currently worth $2.9 billion per annum and has seen its UK trade grow by 60 per cent over the past five years. Unlike its mainly French and Belgian competitors, it bakes its products on-site, and supplies a wide customer base that includes Ryanair and Café Rouge. The expanded operation will employ 105 people, and future expansion plans to export products to Ireland and Sweden are expected to lead to the creation of more jobs in the future. Earlier in March, Welsh company Rhymney Brewery signed a bilateral licensing agreement with O’Brien Brewery of Melbourne, Australia, which will see the two firms promote and sell each other’s products in their respective domestic markets.

The Scottish Government, via investment agency Scottish Enterprise, has awarded computer giant IBM a $1.45 million research grant for work at its Greenock site. Enterprise Minister Jim Mather said: “With a 57-year history in Scotland and almost 2,000 employees based in Greenock, IBM has a significant presence in the Scottish economy. This award from Scottish Enterprise will enable IBM’s skilled Scottish staff to spearhead the development of cutting-edge software.” IBM is also refurbishing its premises and is benefiting from Regional Selective Assistance grants, which will help to safeguard jobs.

French consultancy firm Altran is to establish a new high-tech hub at Stepps, near Glasgow in Scotland. It will invest more than $2.9 million to build its ‘project factory’ on the former site of a whisky distillery, having chosen the site over a number of other potential locations in countries including Germany, India and Singapore. Altran specialises in technology and innovation consulting, and its new centre will prove central to its aim of transforming the way that companies manage major projects around the world by using innovative software. The new hub will focus on technologies such as human resources processes, data centres, audit and compliance work and management of corporate real estate portfolios. The Altran group has over 18,500 employees in 20 countries and in 2008 reported a turnover $2.23 billion.

Dutch electronics giant Philips is expanding its Northern Ireland base with a $1.45 million investment that will more than double its workforce. Belfast-based Philips Healthcare Informatics, part of the Royal Philips Electronics Group, produces a high-tech cardiovascular information system used by hospitals such as St Thomas’s Hospital and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London. The system, which manages clinical and administrative records for heart patients, has long been the market leader in the UK and Ireland and is now being sold in international markets. Invest Northern Ireland has offered $609,000 of support towards the expansion, which will create 30 new graduate-level jobs, taking the company’s workforce to 49. Trade Minister Arlene Foster said: “This expansion project demonstrates the confidence that this blue-chip multinational group has in its Belfast operation and in the local skills base. ICT is a key growth sector for Northern Ireland and the availability of highly-skilled IT professionals here has attracted many high-profile companies that continue to reinvest.” Philips Healthcare Informatics has had a presence in Northern Ireland since it acquired Belfast software company Tomcat Clinical Systems in April 2008.

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