April 2006

News

His main focus was on education, with a promise to increase investment in schools to $14 billion a year over the next five years, to match private-sector levels of spending. He also announced an increase in funding for further education and measures to promote skills training, particularly for women workers and the low-paid.

Mr Brown’s forecast for the UK’s economic growth was unchanged, at 2-2.5 per cent for this year and 2.75-3.25 per cent in 2007/8. Government borrowing for 2006/7 would be $63.4 billion, falling to $52.8 billion in 2007/8 and $44 billion in 2008/9. Public investment this year would be $45.8 billion, rising to $63.4 billion by 2012. Consumer price inflation remains on target, at 2 per cent.

The Chancellor announced that the government would sell off part of its 65 per cent stake in British Energy, worth an estimated $3.5 billion, as well as its stake in the Tote, which handles betting on horse races. British Energy provides about 20 per cent of the UK’s electricity. These steps follow other recent privatisations such as the sale of Westinghouse, the US arm of British Nuclear Fuels, in January and the flotation of defence research company Qinetiq. It is also thought likely that the government will dispose of its one-third stake in uranium enrichment company Urenco.

Funding for medical research will be simplified, with a single $1.76 billion budget for research undertaken by the Medical Research Council and the National Health Service. The Chancellor raised the headcount limit on companies able to claim tax credits for research and development expenditure from 250 to 500 employees, pulling in many mid-tier companies and doubling the number of companies eligible to claim 150 per cent tax relief. This is expected to benefit high-growth companies which, typically, need large numbers of workers to develop products before they start making a profit.

Tax incentives for venture capital will be cut to 30 per cent relief for investments in venture capital trusts. In the property sector, the rules will be revised to make it easier for property companies to become real estate investment trusts (Reits), a type of tax-efficient property vehicle.

Mr Brown announced a reduction in government regulation to cut the burden of red tape on companies, starting with the Revenue and Customs service. The number of business support schemes offered by different RDAs around the country will also be streamlined, with the current 3,000 schemes reduced to about 100.

From next year the climate change levy payable by businesses on their electricity bills will rise in line with inflation. Landfill tax will rise by $5.30 per tonne of waste, as it has done in previous years. A new energy and environmental research institute, the National Institute of Energy Technologies, will be created to develop low-carbon sources of power. It will have at least $1.76 billion of funding, to be raised from the public and private sectors. There will be an $88 million fund to help install microgeneration technologies – such as wind turbines and solar panels – in 25,000 schools and hospitals over the next two years.

Tax duty on fuel was frozen until 1 September, and Mr Brown rewarded the more environmentally conscious motorist in an overhaul of the vehicle excise duty regime. Drivers of low-emission cars will pay less, while the highest polluters – such as gas-guzzling SUVs – will pay more. Tax breaks were extended for users of biofuels. There were the usual rises in ‘sin taxes’: 9p (16c) on a packet of 20 cigarettes, 4p (7c) on a bottle of wine and 1p (1.7c) on a pint of beer. However, duty on spirits and champagne will remain unchanged.

With an eye to the 2012 London Olympics, Mr Brown made available $352 million to provide training facilities for athletes, a sum that will be augmented by sponsorship and National Lottery funds. He also said the Treasury would fund a ‘schools Olympics’, starting this summer in Glasgow and then moving round the country in subsequent years.

Business reaction to the Budget was muted. Business leaders were happy that Mr Brown had introduced no new taxes, but many – in particular manufacturers and exporters – felt that more could have been done to help business and boost competitiveness.


Service sector grows while manufacturers are more optimistic
The service sector grew in February at its fastest rate for two years, according to the latest survey by the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS) and the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). An unexpected spurt saw the main business activity index for services rise to 58.9 from 57.0 in January, its highest level since April 2005, as new business growth picked up. (A figure above 50 indicates expansion, a figure below 50 contraction.) The survey covers all private sector services, excluding wholesale, retail and distribution, and covers about 40 per cent of the UK economy.

Manufacturing activity grew in February for the seventh consecutive month, according to CIPS/RBS, although the expansion was subdued. The purchasing managers index for this sector recorded a figure of 51.7. New orders increased for the ninth month in a row, though the reading of 52.6 was down from the average of 53.2 for the previous five months. The domestic market was the main driver for new orders, with demand from abroad virtually unchanged.

Another report, the Confederation of British Industry’s Industrial Trends survey, found that orders were still down on long-term trends but that manufacturers were more optimistic, with more of them expecting to expand production over the next three months. A third survey, from the manufacturers’ association EEF, was more upbeat, finding that manufacturing orders were at their strongest since the end of 2004 and predicting that growth will continue to improve over the course of the year, with orders expanding from countries in the eurozone, particularly Germany. Growth is concentrated in high-tech areas such as electronics, in which many Scottish companies excel, and aerospace, which is led by companies in South West England, according to the EEF.

In other economic indicators, high street sales increased by 3.5 per cent in February compared with 3.4 per cent in January, according to the British Retail Consortium. Inflationary pressures remained steady, with factory gate prices rising 0.3 per cent in February to maintain an annual rate of 2.9 per cent. The costs of materials and fuel purchased by manufacturers remained unchanged, reflecting lower energy costs.


UK companies prove tempting targets in M&A spree
Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity is rising to levels not seen since the dotcom boom of 2000, and British companies are proving prime targets for overseas investors and private equity funds. Low interest rates, relaxed regulation and the highest FTSE 100 share prices for four-and-a-half years are just some of the factors driving a takeover spree. In recent months, mobile phone company O2 has been bought by Telefónica of Spain, while Ericsson of Sweden has acquired Marconi’s telecommunications equipment and services businesses. Dubai Ports World is in the process of taking over shipping and ports company P&O, while German investors have snapped up logistics company Excel.

Among the latest developments, German industrial conglomerate Linde has taken over UK industrial gases firm BOC in an all-cash deal worth $14.4 billion. The acquisition will create the world’s biggest industrial gases and engineering group with combined sales of $14.3 billion, ahead of France’s Air Liquide. Linde is the largest builder of hydrogen production facilities in the world, and also makes forklift trucks and warehouse equipment, although it is expected to sell off this division to concentrate on its gas business. Around 60 per cent of Linde’s staff are employed outside Germany and the company already has UK operations at Basingstoke, West Bromwich, Aldershot and Merthyr Tydfil, among other sites. BOC (originally the British Oxygen Company) employs 30,000 people and has two million customers in 50 countries. The two companies, whose relationship stretches back a century, are a good fit geographically, with Linde strong in Europe and BOC’s main markets being the UK and Asia.

Body Shop International, the UK cosmetics company run on ethical principles, has agreed to a $1.1 billion takeover by French cosmetics giant L’Oréal. Body Shop founders Anita and Gordon Roddick will retain a 20 per cent stake in the chain they started 30 years ago, and which has built a reputation for fair trade, sustainable development and product development that avoids animal testing.

US media group EW Scripps is to pay $370 million for USwitch.com, a price comparison website for energy providers that allows consumers to compare prices and services and to switch their provider online. Set up in 2000 by Lord Milford Haven, the company posted revenues of $24.6 million in 2005 and is expected to make $$70-$79 million this year. USwitch.com has moved into telephony and personal finance services and also owns UpMyStreet.com, a local information website. EW Scripps wants to expand the service in Europe and to launch price comparisons in the US.

Elsewhere, UK glass manufacturer Pilkington Glass has been bought by Nippon Sheet Glass of Japan (see Regional News below). And there may be more deals in the pipeline. Airports group BAA, the world’s largest airport operator with Heathrow and Gatwick airports amongst its portfolio, is currently attracting takeover interest from two separate consortiums, led by construction group Ferrovial of Spain and Macquarie Bank of Australia. Cheung Kong Infrastructure of Hong Kong has confirmed its interest in Thames Water, the UK’s largest water and waste company. Other companies thought to be takeover targets include bank Lloyds TSB and directories group Yell. The long-running battle for control of the London Stock Exchange saw a new bid tabled in March, a $7.4 billion offer from US-based NASDAQ. In the past 15 months the LSE has rejected four unsolicited bids from foreign rivals, including this latest one.


UK seen as top European location for global growth
As enterprises around the world continue to globalise their operations, the UK is seen as the number one market in Europe for companies wanting to grow over the next three years, according to a survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit. The EIU’s annual CEO Briefing survey polled 555 executives from 68 countries around the world, in Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific. It found that senior executives expected the proportion of their companies’ revenue coming from overseas markets to increase by an average of one-third in the coming three years. The UK was considered an attractive prospect as a gateway to global markets and as the centre of international business in Europe. In global terms it ranked fourth, behind China, the US and India.

Almost 90 per cent of respondents regarded the prospects for business globally as either good or very good, a marked improvement on previous years. The EIU itself predicts that GDP growth worldwide will average 4 per cent in 2006. Many companies are offshoring all or part of their operations, citing improved performance, as well as lower costs, as key factors in their decision to do so. Paradoxically, respondents cited understanding local customers as one of the biggest challengers facing managers of global companies. However, most company boards have a long way to go before becoming truly global, concluded the survey. Of 250 companies analysed, only 18.6 per cent of board members were of a different nationality than the company they steered. Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange were the most likely to have a foreign national on their board, with an average of 4.3 nationalities.

According to the report’s author, Andrew Palmer: “The UK economy may be going through a weaker patch but its attractiveness to investors remains strong, thanks to a broadly pro-business policy orientation, a relaxed attitude to foreign takeovers and sophisticated capital markets.”


New recognition for India’s growing business influence
The number of Indian companies investing in London has more than doubled in the past year, according to investment agency Think London, and Indian investors now represent 30 per cent of all foreign investment in the capital, making India the second biggest overseas investor after the US, which accounts for 50 per cent of the total. Within the past year, 22 Indian companies have set up operations in London, promising to generate around 400 new jobs in total. Of these, 75 per cent are in the telecoms, IT and pharmaceuticals sectors, with software and computer companies from Bangalore and Mumbai in the vanguard.

These include Bangalore-based Microland, which has set up a new base in the City that is expected to create 50 jobs, and Northgate Technologies, which is expected to create up to 70 jobs at its new base at Canary Wharf. “Whilst much attention has been given to UK companies outsourcing jobs to India, the fact is that successful Indian businesses – notably in the technology sector – are expanding rapidly in the global market and are bringing new jobs to London,” said Michael Charlton, chief executive of Think London.

Meanwhile, nominations are being invited for the UK Trade & Investment India Business Awards. The awards, the first created by any government specifically to recognise India’s global business influence, were announced by Prime Minister Tony Blair on a visit to Delhi last September. UK and Indian companies in the knowledge-based industries are invited to submit nominations in a number of categories, including Investor of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year, Business Partnership Award and Innovation Award. More information at: www.ukinindia.com.


London gives a leg-up to executive careers
Nine out of ten foreign-born executives believe that working in London has benefited their careers, according to a survey by Think London. The report, which highlights the rise of the ‘Global Professional’, surveyed 348 foreign-born executives from 46 different countries. Of the respondents, 93 per cent said that career enhancement was the reason for moving to London in the first place. During their time there, nearly 60 per cent had been promoted, and almost 80 per cent expected further promotion when they left.

Some 98 per cent felt they had developed a better understanding of global business since being in the UK capital, and more than 90 per cent said that their time there had helped them to develop more focused goals. A similar proportion said that their work motivation had increased, citing London’s business culture as a contributory factor, while 80 per cent thought that the city’s cultural and social life enhanced personal growth. Some 90 per cent thought that London provided relevant career networks, while 70 per cent said that being in London had helped them to network with people from other organisations. In addition, 94 per cent said that their time in London had helped them to develop greater tolerance of diverging views.


Overseas professionals welcomed to UK under new points system
The UK has benefited from opening its borders to workers from the ten new countries that joined the European Union in 2004, according to the European Commission. Since the EU expansion, some 290,000 people from the new accession countries (Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Malta and Cyprus) have come to work in the UK. Workers from these countries have contributed to business creation and long-term growth and have relieved labour and skills shortages, without crowding out local workers, according to Vladimir Spidla, EU Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs. The UK, along with Sweden and Ireland, has been one of only three European countries to fully open its borders to new workers.

For migrants from countries outside the EU, the government is to introduce a points system that will give preference to young professionals and entrepreneurs over low-skill workers. The system, which will also favour employers who comply with regulations on foreign-born workers, will be similar to those operating in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. It may reduce the qualifying period before professionals are permitted to apply for permanent UK residence, from four years to two years, although the qualifying period for other groups of residents may be increased to five years.

Special quota systems for workers in the hotel and catering trade and for seasonal fruit pickers are likely to be scrapped, as most of these jobs are now filled by workers from new EU member states in eastern and central Europe, who have unrestricted access to the UK job market. Currently, qualifications for ‘top-tier’ migrants include a degree, at least five years’ work experience and a salary of $70,000 in their last year of employment. Other workers wanting to come to the UK from non-EU countries will need to be sponsored by an employer.

At the other end of the wage scale, the minimum wage is to rise by 5.9 per cent to £5.35 ($9.40) an hour from October. This follows a rise of 4 per cent last year and rises totalling 15.5 per cent in the previous two years. Contrary to some predictions, increases in the minimum wage have not led to large-scale job losses, as employers seek to cut costs. However, the UK’s overall unemployment rate edged up 0.1 percentage points in the three months to the end of January, and was 0.3 points higher than at the same stage a year previously.


Rail plan promises easier ride for container traffic
Network Rail, the company that owns the UK’s rail infrastructure, has put forward a plan to improve railfreight access between the port of Southampton on the south coast and the main west coast railway line between London and Glasgow. It proposes spending $140 million to improve clearance for the newer 9.5ft shipping containers now commonly in use, by raising bridges and lowering track in tunnels on certain stretches of line. This will allow the containers to be transported on normal flat wagons from the port, the UK’s second busiest container terminal. Network Rail wants to clear two routes from Southampton to Reading, via Andover and Winchester. From Reading, the route will connect with the west coast main line, which is already cleared for the larger containers, as are routes between Reading and Felixstowe on the east coast, which is the country’s busiest container port.

The Highways Agency has launched a new website to help road haulage companies plan their journeys when moving abnormal loads. The ESDAL (Electronic Service Delivery for Abnormal Loads) site is intended to cut bureaucracy and make it easier for companies to find out who to contact when they need to inform police and highway authorities about moving large loads. It offers online route planning and will automatically generate a list of the necessary contacts. The site is at: www.highways.gov.uk/esdal, while companies can register their details online by contacting: register@esdal.com.

The total number of roads goods vehicles travelling from Great Britain to mainland Europe in 2005 was 2.78 million, a 1 per cent increase over 2004 and a dramatic 71 per cent more than in 1995, according to the Office for National Statistics. Powered vehicles accounted for just over 2 million of the total, with the rest being unaccompanied trailers. The number of unaccompanied trailers, at 756,000, was 3 per cent down on 2004 but 12 per cent up on 1995.

UK-registered vehicles accounted for 26 per cent of all powered vehicles in 2005, compared with 25 per cent in 2004 and 51 per cent in 1995. The number of vehicles originating from the new member states of the European Union (those joining in May 2004) increased by 62 per cent between 2004 and 2005, from 103,000 to 167,000, with most coming from Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic. The Dover Straits ports – Dover, Folkestone, Ramsgate and the Channel Tunnel – handled 84 per cent of all powered vehicles travelling to mainland Europe in 2005, compared with 74 per cent in 1995. The North Sea ports on the east coast handled 92 per cent of unaccompanied trailer traffic, compared with 74 per cent a decade earlier.

A new terminal has been officially opened at Newquay Airport in Cornwall, South West England. The $4.9 million project has increased the terminal’s area by 20 per cent and offers improved passenger facilities and a boost in capacity, from 300,000 passengers a year to 400,000. It also includes improvements to access roads and expanded parking and drop-off areas. Most of the cost of the scheme has been met by grants from the Department for Transport and European Objective One funding, with the rest made up by the airport’s operator, Cornwall County Council.


Developers get the green light
Headline rents for prime office space in the City of London increased to $84.50 per sq ft in the final quarter of 2005, while inducements declined gradually to an average of 30 months offered rent-free on a 15-year lease, according to DTZ’s latest core (central offices research) report. In the West End, headline rents rose to $118.80 per sq ft while rent-free periods fell back to 12 months on a 15-year term. The volume of space marketed in central London as a whole in the final quarter of 2005 declined to 17.1 million sq ft, compared with 19.2 million sq ft in the previous quarter, with the availability ratio at the end of the year standing at 7.8 per cent as opposed to 8.7 per cent at the end of September. Take-up in the fourth quarter fell to 3.2 million sq ft, compared with 3.9 million sq ft in the previous three months.

Approval has finally been given for the $3.5 billion redevelopment of the King’s Cross area of central London, after years of planning. King’s Cross is perhaps the most rundown part of the capital, but houses an important mainline railway station and will also be the terminus for the new Channel Tunnel Rail Link. The scheme will see a 67-acre site just north of the station redeveloped to provide 4.5 million sq ft of office space, together with nearly 2,000 flats and other facilities, including schools, health centres and swimming pools. To be built on land owned by Excel and London & Continental Railways, it will be one of the biggest developments in the capital for 150 years. Completion is set for 2020.

In Glasgow in Scotland, the largest speculative development for 50 years has been launched onto the market. The $70 million Aurora building offers 176,982 sq ft of Grade A accommodation, at the heart of the city’s international financial services district (IFSD) at Broomielaw. This regenerated area of the city centre now contains more Grade A office space than any other city in the UK outside London. Some 120,000 sq ft is still under construction and planning permission has been granted for a further 1.4 million sq ft. Several big-name companies have moved to the area since the regeneration scheme started, including Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, Lloyds TSB, Clydesdale Bank and insurer Direct Line.

A new Innovation Centre is planned as the first phase of development on the University of Kent’s Technology Park at Canterbury in South East England. One of a network of incubator facilities supported by the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), the centre will provide space for start-up companies and will build on the work of the existing Canterbury Enterprise Hub. Businesses locating there will be able to access the academic expertise of the university, through joint research projects, consultancy and training.

Earth ducts laid at Butterfield, Luton

Work has begun on an ‘environmentally responsible’ business village at the 85-acre Butterfield Business and Technology Park in Luton in Eastern England. The village will provide high-quality offices ranging in size from 1,600 sq ft to 20,000 sq ft, together with a central facilities building. The office buildings will be the first in the UK to incorporate a passive heating and ventilation system using earth ducts. Construction is due to be completed in February 2007.

Work has begun on infrastructure and site preparation at Morlands Enterprise Park in Glastonbury, South West England. Soil at the former tannery site will be decontaminated before the brownfield site is put back into productive use. In Leicester in the East Midlands, a new 100,000 sq ft business quarter is planned at the site of the former Charles Street Police Station, while preparations are also under way for a new science and technology park and a seven-acre business park at the Bursom Industrial Estate.

In the West Midlands, a new development at Coventry Business Park will include 13 new units on a 2.5-acre site. The Spitfire Centre will be arranged in four buildings and will offer units from 2,350 sq ft to 20,000 sq ft, suitable for industrial, office or warehouse use. Elsewhere in the region, first-phase construction work is due to start on the $52.8 million Chatterley Valley regeneration project. The first part of this huge project will see 57.5 acres of former colliery land at Lowlands Road, Newcastle-under-Lyme transformed into a major employment site. In all, the scheme will encompass 175 acres of land over the next ten years, and is expected to create up to 4,000 jobs.

Numerous developments are springing up in the Wirral in North West England. Construction is under way of two Grade A headquarters buildings at the Wirral International Business Park in Bromborough. The speculative buildings, totalling 48,000 sq ft, form the first phase of the planned 250,000 sq ft Riverside Park development. In the same park, The Gateway scheme offers two office buildings of 8,000 sq ft and 32,000 sq ft. A new development at Ferryview Business Park will provide 60,000 sq ft of industrial space in four detached blocks of 15,000 sq ft. Space will be available from 5,000 sq ft upwards, and construction should be complete by the summer. Another industrial development, at Stadium Court, is now complete, and offers eight units with total space of 58,600 sq ft.

In Liverpool, the city’s first science park is set to open in April. The $14 million Liverpool Science Park will provide incubator facilities for fledgling companies in the knowledge-led sector. It has already signed up six tenants, with more due to confirm. Also in Liverpool, the Heath Business and Technical Park at Runcorn is planning a huge expansion. More than 150 businesses have moved to the park since it opened six years ago and the expansion, if approved, is expected to attract another 40. The complex has been described by Prime Minister Tony Blair as “a model for economic regeneration”.

British Waterways, the body responsible for the UK’s canal network, has announced an ambitious plan to build 50 new inland marinas, with the potential for development schemes worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Canal boating is a popular holiday activity in the UK, and British Waterways plans to build an extra 11,000 berths to accommodate holiday-makers. Commercial schemes will help to fund this expansion, and some marinas are likely to contain apartments, shops and bars, as well as more traditional nautical facilities.

US private equity group Carlyle is to launch its first UK-only real estate vehicle, with a spending power of $1.3 billion. The group has established a joint venture with Skelton, a private developer, to buy and develop property throughout the UK. Although Carlyle believes the UK’s commercial property market may be approaching its peak, it still sees plenty of opportunities. The joint venture vehicle has already purchased an office block in the prestigious Mayfair area of central London and another in Waterloo that it hopes to turn into a hotel.


Regional news
Presstek, a leading manufacturer of digital imaging solutions for the graphic arts market based in Hudson, New Hampshire, has opened a new European business centre at West Drayton, near Heathrow Airport in South East England. The new base will provide the company with a strategic base for its operations across Europe, including sales, marketing, technical support and logistics. The centre will feature a multilingual support team, and will have its own demonstration and technical assistance facilities.

United Health, a healthcare company based in Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and Humber, has established a knowledge transfer programme and commercial partnership with the University of New South Wales in Australia. The two partners have set up a $3 million research project and a new company, Medcare Systems Pty. This will develop new technologies for the global health market, in particular a toolkit of solutions to monitor patients remotely via a secure web browser. This is United Health’s main area of expertise, and includes applications in self-care and remote health management such as chronic illness, care of the elderly, GP systems, occupational health, group housing and care homes.

The Danish-owned Maersk Company Ltd, part of AP Moller/Maersk, one the world’s largest shipping groups, is transferring its UK ship management division from Canary Wharf in London to Newcastle in North East England. Some 40 staff, responsible for the crewing and technical management of more than 40 UK-flagged vessels around the world, will relocate to the new base at Newcastle Quayside.
It is also expected that a design team and technology support unit will be created as the company expands. Local agencies have assisted Maersk with the move, with $3.2 million in Selective Finance for Investment (SFI) funding, which is expected to create 100 new jobs over the next three years.

Japanese-owned Asahi Glass Fluoropolymers (AGFP) is investing more than $26 million to build a new factory at Thornton Cleveleys in Lancashire, North West England. The factory will produce ETFE (ethylene tetrafluoroethylene), a new and more versatile type of PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), a material used in the aerospace, medical, automotive and building industries. The plant is expected to start production in April 2007, when it will become the third such facility in the world. The other two plants, located in Japan, are also owned by Asahi Glass.

Another Japanese company, Nippon Sheet Glass, is to acquire the remaining 80 per cent it does not already own of UK glass manufacturer Pilkington, in a deal worth $3.2 billion. Pilkington is one of the UK’s oldest glass manufacturers, with a history stretching back 180 years. Employing nearly 24,000 people, its head office is in St Helens on Merseyside, in the North West, and it also has factories in Birmingham and Doncaster. Nippon Sheet, which will combine its UK subsidiary NGF Europe (also based in St Helens) with Pilkington’s head office, will now be in a position to challenge Asahi Glass for the crown of the world’s leading glass-maker. Asahi claims about 25 per cent of the global market while Pilkington has 19 per cent and Nippon Sheet 9-10 per cent. In November, Pilkington announced a 22 per cent jump in first-half 2005 profits, despite sizeable increases in energy costs.

Darnley Career Academy of Canada is to establish a new distance learning and education support centre in Alva, Clackmannanshire in Scotland. DCA works closely with institutions of vocational, further and higher education and awarding bodies, to provide accredited materials such as text books and study guides. The new centre, in the town’s Hillfoot Business Village, will initially employ 25 people, and this number is expected to increase as the market for distance learning materials grows. The company secured a Regional Selective Assistance grant of $404,800 from the Scottish Executive to support the investment.

Fintec Crushing and Screening Ltd, based at Ballygawley in Co Tyrone, Northern Ireland, is to make a multi-million-dollar investment to develop a new range of mobile crushers and to increase its global exporting capabilities. The company, part-owned by Swedish multinational Sandvik AB and run by local entrepreneur Hubert Watson, is a leading manufacturer of mobile crushing and screening equipment for the quarrying and recycling industries. Fintec will add 55,000 sq ft of new workspace next to its existing operations and will create 75 new jobs over the next two years. The project is being supported by a grant of $880,000 from Invest Northern Ireland.

US-owned B/E Aerospace has doubled the size of its factory in Kilkeel, Northern Ireland and has taken on an additional 200 staff. The company is a leading manufacturer of aircraft seats, supplying airlines such as British Airways. It moved its manufacturing plant from the US to Northern Ireland following the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the subsequent downturn in air travel, and since then its operations have thrived. It has quadrupled its output and doubled its productivity, and its newly expanded facility will be the largest producer of aircraft seats in the aerospace industry. Invest NI, which contributed $5.3 million to help B/E build the new plant, hopes it will create opportunities in the supply chain and help to boost the aerospace industry in the region.

To find out about business exhibitions and events happening around the United Kingdom click on the EVENTS button.