January 2010

NEWS

Chancellor sets out plans to raise income and cut spending

Chancellor Alistair Darling unveiled his Pre-Budget Report (PBR) on 8 December, setting out measures aimed at helping the UK’s recovery from recession. Mr Darling said that GDP was expected to fall by 4.75 per cent in the current fiscal year, a bigger contraction than the 3.5 per cent fall he predicted in April’s Budget. However, he said that the UK economy would return to growth by the end of the year. In 2010-11 growth would be between 1 per cent and 1.5 per cent, and it would reach 3.5 per cent in 2011-12 and 2012-13, he predicted. The government will borrow the equivalent of 12.6 per cent of GDP in the current fiscal year, falling to 12 per cent in 2010 and then steadily to 4.4 per cent by 2014-15. Net debt as a share of GDP would be 56 per cent in the current year and would peak at 78 per cent in 2014-15, before starting to fall in 2015-16, said the Chancellor.

Mr Darling claimed that his PBR would be fiscally neutral. He confirmed that value added tax (VAT) would return to 17.5 per cent from 1 January 2010. National insurance contributions (NICs) will rise by 0.5 per cent from 2011, but the government will increase the starting point from which the tax is paid to ensure that no-one earning below $32,000 is affected. This measure is expected to raise $4.8 billion by 2011-12. The Chancellor made no changes to overall income tax rates, but announced some changes to what can be claimed as tax-deductable. Employer pensions contributions will be included in pensions tax relief, affecting individuals earning more than $208,000 per annum. The point at which 40 per cent income tax becomes payable is to be frozen for a year from April 2012. The inheritance tax allowance has been frozen at $520,000, suspending a planned increase to $560,000.

In terms of public spending, Mr Darling said that government spending growth would fall to 0.8 per cent of GDP in 2011-12 and 2013-14. The government would stick to its spending plans for 2010-11, with an increase of $49.6 billion. A further $8 billion in efficiency savings are planned from government spending programmes, such as major IT projects. He cut the provision for banking losses from $80 billion to $16 billion. There will be no windfall tax on the profits of UK banks but Mr Darling introduced a 50 per cent levy on individual discretionary bonuses of more than $40,000, with immediate effect. This measure is expected to raise $880 million. All pay rises in the public sector will to be capped for two years at 1 per cent from 2011.

There were a number of measures related to the environment. For example, electric vehicles were exempted from company car tax for five years, while businesses buying plug-in vans can write off the full cost of the vehicles against corporation tax in the first year. A scheme to subsidise households upgrading domestic boilers has been introduced, similar to the car scrappage scheme. The Innovation Investment Fund and the Carbon Trust’s Venture Capital scheme will support $256 million of public and private investment in low-carbon projects. The government will double its commitment to finance four carbon capture and storage demonstration projects, and there will be an additional $320 million energy efficiency programme from April 2010.

In telecommunications, plans to extend the UK’s superfast broadband network will be funded by a 50p (80c) per month tax on landline telephone connections. In the field of science, corporation tax on income from biotechnology and pharmaceutical patents will be cut to 10 per cent. Funding for the Government’s Strategic Investment Fund will be extended by $320 million. For small businesses, an increase in corporation tax has been deferred, leaving the 2010 tax rate unchanged. Empty property relief will be extended for another year on commercial properties with a rateable value of less than $24,500. The time-to-pay scheme, which allows companies to agree extra time for settling tax bills, will be extended for as long as necessary. The Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme will also be extended for a further 12 months, providing an additional $800 million of loans to businesses.

Mr Darling defended his PBR forecasts, dismissing criticism from opposition parties that he had not adequately addressed the size of the budget deficit. He said that removing support from the economy prematurely would “run the risk of tipping the economy into deeper downturn and that could result in more pain, more borrowing and that would have been totally irresponsible and totally unacceptable.” The Treasury has not yet published details of departmental spending cuts, but areas of government that are not explicitly protected are thought to be facing real cuts in spending of 10-15 per cent over three years.


Support for emerging technologies and new role for RDAs
The additional $320 million announced in the Pre-Budget Report for the Strategic Investment Fund (SIF) brings the SIF’s total allocation to $1.52 billion and includes $240 million for low-carbon investment. The fund is aimed at strengthening innovation, job creation and growth among emerging technologies. Among the projects the additional money will be used for are $80 million for the further development of the UK’s offshore wind industry; $8 million for the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) to set up new prize funds; $48 million to support low-carbon transport projects and $62.4million for other-low carbon projects; and $48 million for the chemicals industry on Teesside in North East England.

This latter investment will help to equip Teesside to move from traditional heavy industry to low-carbon manufacturing. It includes the redevelopment of industrial land and infrastructure and investment to establish bio-based materials, to reduce energy use by industry, for initiatives on carbon capture and storage and support for technology transfer and new business practices. It forms part of a total $76 million package for the region that is projected to create up to 3,000 jobs in the short term and 10,000 over the longer term.

Three new projects to be funded from the SIF have also been announced. There will be $18.4 million for the world’s largest wind turbine blade testing facility in North East England; $16 million investment in a $70 million High Performance Computing Institute in Wales, which will focus on providing support to key industrial sectors; and $19.2 million for the Edinburgh BioQuarter partnership in Scotland that will support the growth of new and emerging life sciences companies.

At the same time, the Government has set out a new role for regional development agencies (RDAs) and local authorities to back growing industries. A new national framework – Partnerships for Growth – sets out plans to coordinate the work of RDAs and local authorities to promote industries that will drive growth and pursue national priorities for skills, innovation, investment and enterprise. Projects where RDAs are already collaborating with others to promote priority sectors identified by the Government’s ‘New Industry, New Jobs’ strategy include the Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry, West Midlands, (Advantage West Midlands and East Midlands Development Agency), the Bioscience Park in Stevenage, Hertfordshire (part-funded by East of England Development Agency, the UK Strategic Investment Fund and Technology Strategy Board), the Environmentally Friendly Engine aerospace project (part-funded by the South West, East Midlands, West Midlands and North West RDAs) and the Supply Chain Initiative for high-value materials and components in the printable electronics market (Northern Way).

Mick Laverty, chief executive of Advantage West Midlands, said: “There are few other public sector bodies which are able to offer this degree of simplicity or speed, which benefits national government, local authority partners and business alike. The RDA model of generating wealth, by targeting funding where it makes most impact to deliver maximum value for money, is a model that works. Every $1 invested by RDAs generates at least $4.50 in return.”


Government commits fresh funding for environmental sector
The Pre-Budget Report contained substantial new funding for environmental initiatives, intended to help ensure the security of the UK’s long-term energy supply and reinforce its leadership in the development of clean technologies. Among new measures announced were a commitment to support four commercial-scale demonstrations of carbon capture and storage technology for coal power generation and the establishment of Infrastructure UK, a body that will work to leverage further investment in low-carbon energy projects. This will include overseeing a $144 million investment into a European Investment Bank fund to catalyse key infrastructure investments.

The Government will also give two Renewables Obligation Certificates per MWh to offshore wind installations accredited between 1 April 2010 and 31 March 2014, and will invest a further $24 million in the New and Renewables Energy Centre (NaREC) in Northumberland, North East England to develop UK capability in the testing of wind turbine blades. It will provide an additional $240 million of support for low-carbon technologies, including a further $80 million for manufacturing and testing facilities in the offshore wind industry. Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Ed Miliband, said: “We have a unique opportunity, as we recover from the global economic downturn, to ensure that the UK builds a low-carbon economy fit for the future.”

The UK – which has set a target to reduce CO2 emissions to 80 per cent by 2050 – already hosts a number of leading environmental research institutes. As well as NaREC, these include the Centre for Renewable Energy Systems Technology (CREST) at the University of Loughborough in the East Midlands, the Energy Research Unit (ERU) at the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) in Oxfordshire, the Durham Centre for Renewable Energy (DCRE) at Durham University and the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) at Imperial College London. In 2009, Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) announced plans to develop a new Centre of Engineering Excellence for Renewable Energy (CEERE) in Glasgow in Scotland, in partnership with the University of Strathclyde.

Leading international companies active in the UK environmental field include TerraCycle, a US company that specialises in turning hard-to-recycle waste material into eco-friendly household products, and German global engineering and technology services company Siemens. Other international names operating in the UK include California-based EarthTrade Water, the manufacturer of LIFE Ionizers; RecycleBank, a US-based environmental rewards and loyalty company; and Closed Loop Environmental Solutions of Australia, which has a plant in Dagenham, Essex capable of recycling 35,000 tonnes of bottles each year. US car company Tesla builds high-performance electric vehicles in the UK and has a regional sales and service centre in Kensington, London.

In the renewable energy sector, Danish company Skykon Tower Solutions, a manufacturer of wind turbines, last year took over a wind turbine manufacturing plant at Campbeltown, Argyll in Scotland and has won a contract to build 152 turbines for the $800 million Clyde Wind Farm near Abington in South Lanarkshire, which will be Europe’s largest onshore wind farm. Skykon will build the towers at its Campbeltown facility on behalf of turbine supplier Siemens, with work expected to begin in February 2010. Nigel Brix, Skykon vice president, said that the UK’s market strength for wind energy was a key factor in the company’s decision to buy the Campbeltown plant.


Technology initiatives to bolster renewable energy sector
The UK was one of nine countries that in December signed an agreement to develop an integrated offshore wind power grid in the North and Irish Seas. Energy and Climate Change Minister Lord Hunt signed the agreement at an Energy Council meeting in Brussels in December, along with ministers from Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, Sweden and Ireland. The North Seas Countries’ Offshore Grid Initiative highlights the role that offshore wind energy can play in meeting the EU’s renewable energy targets for 2020 and the benefits of an integrated offshore grid in terms of security of supply and market integration. A grid spanning European waters should make supplies of electricity more secure for participating countries by making it easier to optimise offshore wind electricity production. The intention is to prepare a strategic work plan in early 2010 with the aim of coordinating offshore infrastructure development, which will be formalised by a memorandum of understanding later in 2010.

Lord Hunt also announced a new round of grants under phase two of the Low Carbon Energy Demonstration (LCED) capital grants scheme, aimed at developing wind turbine technology. Danish company Vestas will receive $5.6 million from the Government and the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), in addition to $9.6 million already awarded. The company will use the grant to develop a new R&D facility on the Isle of Wight, where it currently employs 160 people. By the time the centre opens in 2011, Vestas expects the workforce to grow to over 200 and to nearly 400 over the following years. Also under the scheme, Clipper Windpower Marine Limited will receive $4 million and Mitsubishi Power Systems Europe Ltd $1.3 million.

In other developments, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is inviting applications for its new Smart Grid Demonstration Capital Grant Programme, a $9.6 million scheme designed to help pave the way for smart electricity grids across the UK. Capital funding is available for individual businesses and consortia to develop innovative technologies that will help meet the Government’s target of installing a smart meter in every home by 2020. Grants are available to develop technologies for smart meters and smart grids, such as energy storage mechanisms and communications devices. Applications for funding must be made by 25 January 2010. Successful bidders will be revealed by the end of February, and projects must be completed by March 2011.

Cardiff University in Wales has set up a new Institute of Energy (IoE), an innovative research centre that will work to advance sustainable energy technology. One of six research institutes within the Cardiff University School of Engineering, the IoE has expertise in energy supply, conventional and renewable generation systems, and electricity transmission and distribution, as well as the demand-side and efficient utilisation of energy. Key areas in which the IoE will work include new layers of control and communications for smart grid distribution networks, alternative energy solutions and new fuels and propulsion technologies for the transport sector, primarily automotive and aerospace. Other priorities include complex fluid and thermal systems and earthing and risk assessment of electrical systems, an area in which the institute has specialist experience. It will also focus on new-generation thermoelectric materials and devices for use in waste heat recovery and energy harvesting. According to the university, the IoE’s expertise will allow not only in-depth investigation of particular aspects of energy technologies, but also multi-disciplinary assessment of energy systems and evaluation of their costs and benefits.

North West assumes lead role in development of nuclear power
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson and Chancellor Alistair Darling have outlined a new strategic role for North West England in the development of civil nuclear power. The region has been chosen as a Low Carbon Economic Area for Nuclear (LCEA), based on its assets and capabilities within the nuclear energy field. Working in partnership with Sheffield University, the University of Manchester’s Dalton Nuclear Institute will play a significant role in the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) in South Yorkshire. Manchester will provide research capability for components for nuclear power generation and will help supply chain companies compete in the sector. The package includes an upgrade of the Dalton Nuclear Institute’s research laboratories worth up to $10.8 million. There will also be support for the Dalton Cumbria Educational Facility for nuclear research, higher learning and continual professional development.

The new AMRC in Rotherham will develop expertise in engineering that could help UK companies win orders for components for nuclear power stations likely to be built around the world over the next decade. It will bring together engineering teams from companies including UK aerospace company Rolls-Royce and French nuclear engineering group Areva, as well as researchers from Sheffield University. It will be located in a manufacturing park on the outskirts of the city in the adjacent borough of Rotherham.

The North West is a pioneer in nuclear energy and is home to one of the world’s largest concentrations of nuclear facilities and expertise. Over 25,000 professionals are employed in 300 companies across the region, which have a combined annual turnover of approximately $4.8 billion. Business Minister Lord Drayson said: “Low Carbon Economic Areas will help us focus investment, skills and infrastructure regionally to boost the UK’s national capacity. This nuclear low-carbon economic area will combine the advantages of nuclear infrastructure in the North West and advanced manufacturing in Yorkshire, the advanced manufacturing base in the region and the excellent skills and research bases in Manchester and Sheffield universities. By drawing together our activity regionally we can accelerate our capability nationally.”


New moves boost development of low-carbon vehicles
The Government has announced a $30.4 million competition to support collaborative projects focused on strengthening UK capability and developing supply networks for low- and ultra-low-carbon vehicle projects. At the same time Business Secretary Lord Mandelson confirmed that Bill Parfitt, chairman of Vauxhall, will chair the Supply Chain Council, which will support the work of the Automotive Council. The government-backed Technology Strategy Board (TSB) is to put $16 million into the new Low Carbon Vehicles Innovation Platform competition and will run it in partnership with the cross-government Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV). The Department for Transport (DfT) will put $14.4 million into the competition, which will be focused on technology development and expanding the UK supply chain.

Iain Gray, chief executive of the TSB, said: “This is the fourth competition run by the Technology Strategy Board under its five-year Low Carbon Vehicles Integrated Delivery Programme, which is aimed at integrating the innovation chain from the science base, through collaborative research and development to fleet-level demonstration. The TSB’s challenge-led innovation approach sees the societal, economic and environmental challenges of the future not as threats, but rather as opportunities for innovative solutions that enhance quality of life and increase wealth.”

Performance car-maker Lotus is also contributing to the UK’s leadership in low-carbon vehicles. The company’s latest offering, the Eco Elise, was displayed as a model of sustainability at the Copenhagen climate change conference held in December. According to Lotus, the car embodies its ‘3Rs’: reduce, re-use and recycle. Its ‘green’ features include a hemp hard top and body panels and trim made from eco wool and sisal, finished with a water-based paint. Lotus technical director Simon Wood said: “This Eco Elise is a great example of the advanced and affordable green technologies Lotus is developing. We are at the cutting edge of environmental technology and are determined to push forward with our green agenda.”
 

The Silverstone race circuit in Northamptonshire, East Midlands has signed a deal with Bernie Ecclestone, the entrepreneur who holds the commercial rights to Formula One racing, to stage the British Grand Prix for the next 17 years. The British Racing Drivers Club, which owns the track, said the length of the contract would enable it to redevelop the circuit, which hosted the first ever world driver’s championship race in 1950. Mr Ecclestone agreed in 2008 to sell the Grand Prix rights to Donington Park in nearby Leicestershire for a 17-year period. However, Donington Park’s owners failed to secure funding for track refurbishment, and Donington Ventures Leisure later went into administration. Silverstone will stage this year’s Grand Prix on 11 July 2010, the same day as the Football World Cup final in South Africa. Northamptonshire Enterprise, a public-private group that promotes the county, welcomed the decision, saying that the Grand Prix contributed $86 million a year to the UK economy.

Meanwhile a supersonic car – the 1,000mph Bloodhound SSC – will showcase the UK’s strength in car design and engineering, as a British team that claimed the world land speed record back in 1997 attempts to set a new landmark. The project is based in Bristol, South West England and the car will be built in the city’s docklands, next door to the SS Great Britain. Having gone through 10 design evolutions, it will be powered by a jet engine and a prototype rocket, giving it a horsepower equivalent to 180 Formula 1 cars. The record attempt will be made in 2011 at Hakskeen Pan in Northern Cape Province of South Africa, which offers 12 miles of flat, debris-free land. Wing Commander Andy Green, the previous record-breaker, will be at the wheel and the team is once again led by Richard Noble. Science and Innovation Minister Lord Drayson commented: “It’s time to push technology to the next level and expand our horizons to achieve something truly extraordinary. This is about another British team designing, building and piloting the first land vehicle to exceed 1,000 miles per hour.”

Fresh initiative builds on skills of North West aerospace sector
The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) and the Northwest European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) programme have confirmed funding of $11.4 million for the North West Aerospace Supply Chain Excellence Programme 2 (ASCE). ASCE2 will build on the work of the ASCE1 programme, which launched in 2006 and was the first coordinated approach to supplier development in the UK’s aerospace sector. More than 30 of the most strategically important suppliers in the North West have joined the ASCE1 programme, with each company mentored by a representative from Airbus, BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce or Aircelle. More than 300 jobs have been created or safeguarded and over 2,000 man-days of training have been delivered.

ASCE2 will aim to attract small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to the aerospace sector by focusing on five priorities – skills provision, innovation, shared services, commodity groups and the extended enterprise – to help the region’s supply chain compete in the global industry. The project will be led and managed by the Northwest Aerospace Alliance (NWAA) and a dedicated steering group including the NWDA, BAE Systems, Airbus UK, Rolls-Royce and representatives from the business support sector and academia.

Aerospace is a key sector for the North West, with two in every five aerospace jobs in the UK located in the region. In summer 2009 four companies actively involved in the ASCE1 programme were selected by BAE Systems to play key roles in the production of the F-35 (Joint Strike Fighter) aircraft. All four companies now work closely with the NWAA and BAE Systems in a ‘Supplier Association’ partnership that works to drive down costs and ensure quality and delivery service levels. The contract could eventually be worth in excess of $400 million. Steven Broomhead, chief executive of the NWDA, said: “The aerospace sector in the North West has an annual turnover close to $11.2 billion and forms almost a third of the total UK aerospace turnover, making it the most significant region in the UK.”


New strategy for development of plastic electronics technologies
A new government strategy involving investment of $38 million aims to ensure that the UK remains a world leader in the high-growth plastic electronics sector. The Plastic Electronics Strategy for Success will aim to exploit opportunities for UK manufacturing in domestic and export markets and identify potential areas of global collaboration; facilitate investment and support business growth; and develop new training strategies to provide the multi-disciplinary skills required. It will also support five Centres of Excellence in showcasing the benefits of plastic electronics and will establish a Plastic Electronics Leadership Group (PELG) to champion the sector.

Launching the strategy, Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said: “The UK is already a global leader in the sector thanks to our world-class science base and our strengths in research, creativity and innovation. We now need a roadmap for the industry that takes it from cutting-edge to mass market while keeping Britain firmly in front.” The Government’s ‘New Industry, New Jobs’ strategy has identified plastic electronics as one of a range of new industrial technologies in which strong UK capabilities are a priority for support. Plastic electronics technology allows circuits to be printed onto any surface and over large areas. This low-cost alternative to conventional silicon-based electronics is expected to lead to the creation of new generations of products, including smart systems integrating components such as sensors, batteries and displays. The global market for plastic electronics is worth less than $2 billion at present but is forecast to grow to as much as $330 billion by 2027, potentially creating up to 20,000 jobs in the UK. The largest growth in the sector is predicted in markets for rollable electronic display screens, ultra-efficient lighting and low-cost, long-life solar cells.

A $32 million expansion of the Printable Electronic Technology Centre (PETEC) in Sedgefield in County Durham, North East England, recently announced as part of the Government’s Advanced Manufacturing package, will significantly boost product development facilities for plastic electronics and create 1,500 jobs over the next four years. The first stage in the centre’s expansion will be the development of production facilities for prototype flexible lighting panels and low-cost, long-life solar cells; this will be operational by September 2010. Subsequently, a manufacturing line for plastic electronic displays and integrated smart systems will be installed in early 2011. In addition, the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) is investing $12.8 million in initiatives to help the industry work collaboratively to develop new manufacturing processes and innovative products.

Elsewhere, the Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, has officially opened the Institute for Manufacturing (IfM)’s new home, The Alan Reece Building. The IfM, a division of the University’s Department of Engineering headed by Professor Mike Gregory, moved from its former base in the city to its new $24 million premises in June 2009. The Institute brings together expertise in management, economics and technology to address the full spectrum of industrial issues. Its activities integrate research and education with practical application in companies, and it works closely with industry at regional, national and international levels to provide strategic, technical and operational expertise to help companies grow and become more competitive.

The new building is a major addition to the University’s West Cambridge campus for science and technology. It joins an existing concentration of related research centres, as well as the Hauser Forum, a focal point for entrepreneurship and technology transfer. Vice-Chancellor Professor Alison Richard said: “This building is extending the breadth of what we do at Cambridge University. There is no more vivid a model of linking academia with the needs of society than the Institute for Manufacturing.”
 

Superfast digital networks will benefit businesses
TA new high-end fibre-optic broadband service is projected to benefit 97 per cent of businesses in South Yorkshire. Owned by RDA Yorkshire Forward and a number of local authorities, the $144 million network will guarantee download speeds of at least 25Mbps. It offers wholesale internet access to internet service providers (ISPs) at a time when telecoms companies are reluctant to invest in extending their networks across the region. The completed network will offer services throughout South Yorkshire, reaching around 1.2 million people in 500,000 homes and 40,000 businesses. It is similar to an East of England Development Agency scheme covering businesses in Essex, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk.

Meanwhile a $76.8 million BT programme to install fibre-optic broadband internet in Northern Ireland promises to give businesses there a competitive edge. The government tender specifies that urban businesses must receive a minimum downstream speed of 10Mbps, falling to 2Mbps in rural areas. Northern Ireland Enterprise minister Arlene Foster said: “This will ensure that 85 per cent of businesses will have access to next-generation broadband speeds by 2011. Broadband is an enabler: use of these new services will enable our businesses to increase their productivity and improve the competitiveness of the economy as a whole.” The project is being jointly funded by BT, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) and the European Union.

A new high-speed telecommunications network, NorthernNet, has been launched with the aim of revolutionising collaboration, innovation and interaction between the digital and creative industries in the North of England. Development agencies the Northern Way and the North West Development Agency (NWDA) have invested $18.6 million to develop physical premises and a high-speed network of 100Mbs (upgradeable to 1 Gbps). For the first time, this will give Yorkshire, North West and North East England a single high-speed, secure digital network that will link content creators, content deliverers and content users/buyers or commissioners across the region, enabling them to share information (such as large digital files) and work together quickly, efficiently and in innovative ways.

The network will be available to businesses as a direct connection and as a ‘pay-as-you-go’ service via NorthernNet Media Access Bureaux, positioned across the three Northern regions. There are currently 13 of these bureaux in place in educational, cultural, creative and business venues across the North, with more planned in 2010. In North East England, locations include the Business and Innovation Centre in Sunderland, Northern Film and Media in Hoults Yard and the Tyneside Cinema in Newcastle, and Digital City in Middlesbrough. A further $5.4 million of Northern Way funding has been secured for the NorthernNet Innovation and Collaboration Programme, which is intended to encourage innovation and collaboration to develop a competitive supply chain that will make the region a leading force in the European media industry. The project is managed and coordinated by Northwest Vision & Media from its base at MediaCityUK in Manchester, working with delivery partners in the other northern regions.

Funding support to boost burgeoning creative sectors
The creative media sectors of film, television and computer games in Eastern England are to receive $16 million in European funding to become more carbon-efficient. The Low Carbon Digital Content Project aims to provide a venture capital fund specifically for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) within the content industry, encouraging them in the creation of new, carbon-efficient commercial propositions. The project is split into two phases. The first is a business support programme, including up to 10 workshops on business planning and carbon reduction, which will provide practical examples to reduce carbon emissions, particularly in relation to crew travel, electrical generators on location and the use of next-generation lighting technology. The second phase is an investment fund, providing investments of up to $400,000 for 15-20 individual investment projects and a referral system to link creators with commissioning editors, games publishers and film financiers.

Laurie Hayward, CEO at Screen East, based in Norwich, said: “Producers, programme makers and game developers will be required to adopt low-carbon film, television and digital production methods, attracting ethical finance to co-invest and take new products and services to market.” The project is supported by a partnership between the Low Carbon Innovation Centre, based at the University of East Anglia, and the UK Film Council. It will share its findings with the content industries nationally.

The computer games industry in Scotland has been boosted by $4 million of investment from the Government’s Strategic Investment Fund, which will be used by a specialist centre of excellence at Abertay University to help games companies develop new projects and gaming content. A further $1.6 million will go to a linked centre at MediaCityUK in Manchester, North West England, as part of the Government’s commitment to maintaining the UK’s global reputation in the growing video games industry. The commercial potential developed at Abertay will be enhanced by the Manchester centre, which will give companies a better understanding of how gamers use their prototype products, providing the opportunity for product refinement. In addition, Scottish-based games developers will receive almost $1.6 million of European money. In the first three years, the co-ordinated project aims to create 30 new companies and assist 80 others, create 400 new jobs and build the skills of a further 300 workers. Dundee (where Abertay University is located) has become the hub of the Scottish gaming industry, with a large number of firms now based in the city.

A new software prototyping service for North East England’s digital sector is to put $3 million of investment into accelerating the creation of high-growth software companies. The region’s centre for digital innovation, Codeworks, is to launch the Digital Evaluation Vehicle (DEV), a new service designed to open up commercial opportunities and product development in digital innovation. The initiative will focus on technical analysis and development requirements for software enterprises. “The key driver to the success of the Codeworks DEV programme will lie in combining our technical expertise with our strong relationships with regional agencies, industry and universities to get fast, affordable early-stage customer product feedback,” commented DEV programme leader Fred Pernet. “We will identify entrepreneurs or companies with a new software concept for development and prototyping. Codeworks DEV will then work with them on these early stage ideas to analyse their market potential, technical requirements and provide a development roadmap for design and testing.”
 

UK business schools among the best in Europe
The latest rankings of European business schools by the Financial Times shows London Business School maintaining its second position behind HEC Paris for the fourth year in a row. Six other UK business schools appeared in the top 20 European business schools, with a further nine in the top 40. The rankings grade schools by value, post-graduation salary and other factors.

City University: Cass and Cranfield School of Management were ranked joint 13th in the 2009 survey, respectively up one and down one place from 2008. Imperial College Business School rose 14 places from 30th to 16th, while the University of Strathclyde Business School retained the 17th-placed ranking it held the previous year. The London School of Economics and Oxford University’s Said Business School were ranked joint 19th. Other UK business schools appearing in the top 40 were Warwick, Durham, Ashridge, Aston, Manchester, University of Bath School of Management, Bradford University School of Management, Henley Business School and the Judge School at the University of Cambridge.

Indian business school TASMAC meanwhile reports strong growth at its new campus at Kingsbury in Brent, west London. Established in 1990 and specialising in management and information technology studies, TASMAC has 150 branches across India and campuses in Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai and Kolkata. It opened its international campus in London in 2008, admitting its first students in October that year. TASMAC London School of Business offers full- and part-time MBA courses and BA (Hons) in Business Administration programmes validated by the University of Wales. By the end of 2009 it expected to have 400 students. It currently has 13,000 sq ft of space and is already looking for another building in London.

“We didn’t consider anywhere else in the UK because of London’s reputation worldwide. Our students see London not just as the capital of the UK but as the capital of the world. We found that there’s a lot of respect for the UK education system worldwide – UK degrees are worth more than domestic degrees in countries such as Nigeria and India. I think London is fabulous: cosmopolitan, great business opportunities, arts and culture,” commented Professor Marshall Hall, head of TASMAC London School of Business.


Investors buy into UK cargo handling expertise
Dnata, an investment vehicle owned by the Investment Corporation of Dubai – the Dubai government’s investment arm – has purchased Plane Handling, a cargo handling business owned by the Go-Ahead Group, in a $24 million deal. Dnata holds the Emirates airline and stakes in Dubai banks and utilities, but is not connected to Dubai World, the government conglomerate that is currently struggling with debt repayments. Plane Handling runs cargo operations at Manchester Airport in North West England and London Heathrow. Go-Ahead is also selling its ground handling business, which runs operations at 11 UK airports including Manchester, to Servisair, headquartered in France. The company will retain a “small number of activities at Heathrow” and its parking business, Meteor.

Meanwhile Masternaut Three X, a specialised vehicle tracking company based in Leeds, Yorkshire and Humber, has been bought by Masternaut International, a subsidiary of Hub Telecom owned by Aéroports de Paris, Europe’s second largest airport group. The deal creates Europe’s largest fully integrated telematics, mobile resource and fleet management solutions organisation. Masternaut Three X, founded in 2002, employs 150 people across four sites in the UK and Northern Ireland, at Leeds, Skipton, Hull and Belfast. It also has an international office in Sydney, Australia. The company specialises in vehicle and asset tracking technologies that help companies to manage their assets more efficiently and reduce carbon emissions. Its clients include Harrods, United Biscuits, Nestlé, Indesit and DHL.
 

Lowestoft named enterprise capital of Britain 2009
Lowestoft, a seaside town in Suffolk, Eastern England has been named the enterprise capital of Britain at the national finals of the Enterprising Britain competition, run by Enterprise UK and the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills. In recent years the town has been ranked in the bottom 15 per cent of the most deprived areas in the UK because of industry downturns and the low aspirations of many of its residents. These problems were compounded by seasonal unemployment and a large migratory population. However, with the backing of local enterprise agency NWES, Lowestoft has transformed itself from a town in decline into a breeding ground for business growth. Some 5,000 new businesses have been set up in the past two years, creating almost 10,000 jobs. Thanks to funding from NWES, Lowestoft now has its first centre for the performing arts and a newly opened OrbisEnergy centre, a $13.9 million investment designed to capitalise on the renewable energy sector.

The town beat entries from London, Glasgow, Anfield, Merthyr Tydfil and Chatham to win the Government-run award. Other runners-up included Ashfield Skills Centre from Ashfield School and The Pride of Hull. Scott Cain, deputy chief executive of Enterprise UK, said: “Lowestoft and specifically NWES has demonstrated outstanding vision and drive to become this year’s Enterprising Britain winner. It’s an inspiring story of inspiring people coming together to change lives.” Trade, Investment and Small Business Minister Lord Davies added: “NWES has turned a deprived seaside town into a community that is no longer dependent on a few major employers. In these tough economic times it has established a strong enterprise culture in the region, supporting growing businesses and creating jobs.” Polly Gower, one of the award judges, said: “Lowestoft is a fantastic example of an early adopter of the social-enterprise model that can and should be replicated across the country.”


Regional news
Global document-processing company Esker has opened a new mail facility in the UK; Europe’s first deregulated postal market. It is intended to be a template for future mail-on-demand operations across the EU as more countries deregulate their delivery services. Spokesman Jean-Michel Berard said: “We route mail to the lowest-cost postal operator, which we intend to perfect prior to deregulation in all European countries scheduled for January 2011.” The company’s mail and fax facilities are used by companies to send business mail – invoices, statements, reminder letters, pay slips, sales letters, etc – direct from their computers. It already has partners in Europe, Australia, the US and Singapore, which together process 100 million pages a year. These global centres use industrial printers and folding machines for deliveries that combine local postage rates with significant reductions in delivery times. The UK currently has three different postal operators – Royal Mail, DX and TNT.

IBM has opened a new Business Analytics Solution Centre in London to serve the UK’s financial services sector. The new centre will specialise in advanced data analysis, helping organisations to understand trends in data, including what is happening in real time. It will create 400 new highly-skilled jobs and potentially more in the future. Opening the centre at IBM’s London base on the Southbank, Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said: “This new initiative from IBM is an important vote of confidence in the continued strength of London’s banking and financial sector, and will help to give British firms the competitive advantage they need to thrive and grow.”

Mapfre Assistance, an insurance company headquartered in Madrid, Spain, has set up a sales hub in London, which is home to Europe’s largest insurance industry. The company has had a presence in the UK capital since 1999 and in 2005 bolstered its UK presence by acquiring an insurance distributor based in Bristol, South West England. The new office, in Lime Street in the City of London, has ten staff and will launch products that will enable it to break into new markets such as travel and roadside assistance. It predicts a 95 per cent growth in business within 12 months. “With the insurance industry there are two or three world hubs and London is obviously one of them. Worldwide opportunities happen here,” commented Gregorio Rodriguez Santos, the company’s CEO. Mapfre Assistance provides insurance, reinsurance and assistance services to 2,500 corporate clients in 44 countries worldwide, with a turnover of around $2.3 million a year.

Menicon Co. Ltd., Japan’s largest contact lens manufacturer, has acquired David Thomas Contact Lenses Ltd. (DTCL), a company based in Northampton in the East Midlands, in a multimillion-dollar deal. The acquisition will support Menicon’s plans for expansion in the UK, the Middle East and Africa, allowing it to build on DTCL’s successful business in these territories. DCTL has been making contact lenses since 1972 and is one of the UK’s largest independent manufacturers of custom lenses. Menicon has an important presence in the European RGP lens and lens care market, although not yet in the UK. All existing DTCL products will continue to be available and, over time, other products from Menicon will be introduced through the company, including its growing range of soft contact lenses.

A new landmark development has opened in Leicester in the East Midlands. Phoenix Square combines the latest in digital technology and entertainment with city living and flexible workspace. The $34.4 million development includes 63 apartments, two cinema screens and an interactive digital art gallery, along with 22 workspaces, seven two-storey office studios and eight incubation units for creative businesses. It is the culmination of a project to create a high-quality sustainable development and a new creative community in the city’s Cultural Quarter. It incorporates energy-efficient technology such as ground-source heat pumps and solar-supplemented heating and hot water to help reduce fuel bills. Phoenix Square is a partnership between Leicester City Council, regeneration company Blueprint, the East Midlands Development Agency (emda), Phoenix Arts and De Montfort University, with additional support from the European Regional Development Fund and other sources.

The West Midlands Regional Food Academy (WMRFA) at Harper Adams University College in Shropshire has been awarded a $4.8 million development grant by RDA Advantage West Midlands to enlarge and develop its facilities. These will include a product development kitchen, processing hall, cheese room, taste panel room, focus group room, instrumental analysis room, seminar room and a central teaching theatre. The region plays an important role in securing the UK’s future food supplies, and WMRFA is seeking to attract inward investment by targeting commercial food production. Justine Fosh, director of the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink Manufacturing, said: “The food industry is the largest manufacturing sector in the UK, three times the size of automotive, and this academy will make a real difference.”

Indian-owned TVS Logistics, a subsidiary of the TVS Group based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, has acquired Multipart, a supplier of spare parts to some of the biggest names in transport, including Isuzu and the UK Ministry of Defence. Multipart’s existing workforce and management structure will be retained, with both companies hailing the deal as beneficial to growing the business in the UK and Europe. The $4.8 billion TVS Group is one of the largest car-component manufacturers in India, and its logistics arm supplies parts to markets across Europe, the US and Asia.

Nanotechnology company Orla Protein Technologies, based in Newcastle, North East England, and leading telecoms firm Japan Radio (JR) have successfully developed a hand-held disease detector through their new OJ-Bio joint venture. The company has been set up to develop cutting-edge equipment that can be used to test, diagnose and monitor patients anywhere from doctors’ surgeries to the remotest corners of the world. The venture was backed by UKTI’s R&D Globalisation Programme, which helps businesses to develop and commercialise new products in international markets, and supported by local investment agency RTC North.

Danish-owned Tulip, the UK’s largest producer of pork products, is to invest $19.2 million to redevelop a sausage factory at Bromborough on Merseyside in North West England. Tulip had earlier closed the plant, but it will now reopen as a modern, state-of-the-art facility, following lobbying from local councils. The new factory will employ 270 people and, according to Tulip managing director Peter Judge, should go into production in the first half of 2010.

Twenty delegates from nine European regions – including Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Romania and Spain – visited Wakefield in North West England in late November to share best practice in the development of business and industrial parks and to attend the 3rd Managing Industrial Territories in the Knowledge Era (MITKE) International Conference. The conference, held at Wakefield County Hall, attracted over 90 delegates from across the region. The delegation also visited two of the district’s leading business parks, Langthwaite Business Park in South Kirkby and Calder Park in Wakefield, where key initiatives such as business crime reduction techniques and modern environmental design were demonstrated. At the end of their visit, delegates were presented with a hamper of products made in Wakefield, including gifts from HARIBO, the UK’s leading gums and jellies manufacturer, Coca-Cola Enterprises, whose bottling plant in Wakefield is the largest of its kind in the world, Butterkist popcorn manufacturer Tangerine Confectionery and the iconic apparel manufacturer Burberry. The visit was organised by first, the Wakefield District Development Agency, which is one of 11 European partners in the three-year European Union-funded MITKE project. first has secured more than $1.6 million from English Partnerships for the regeneration of Langthwaite Business Park, which is home to more than 80 businesses and supports 1,235 local jobs.

Faye Yarrow and Sue Stringer of Wakefield first present José Miguel Artaza, leader of the
MITKE project, and delegates, with gifts from the Wakefield District.

US-based SPX Corporation, a multi-industry manufacturing group with operations worldwide, has chosen Manchester in North West England as the location for its new pan-European shared service centre. MIDAS, the city’s inward investment agency, and the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) have supported the company in making its investment, which will create approximately 160 jobs. SPX chose Manchester because it is already home to a large cluster of shared service centres and has a large pool of skilled workers; staff at the centre will work in 12 languages, including English, German, Italian, French, Spanish, Polish and Russian. Other plus points included the availability of high-quality, reasonably priced real estate and direct connections to the US and major European cities from Manchester Airport. The centre will open in the second quarter of 2010 and will specialise in human resources, finance, payroll and other key support services for the company’s operations in 18 European countries. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina and listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), SPX specialises in the provision of flow technology, test and measurement services, thermal equipment and services and industrial products and services, and has employees in more than 40 countries.

Businesses in Wales are to benefit from access to the latest computing technology, expert advice and training, through a new £44 million High-Performance Computing Institute (HPC). HPC Wales is being co-funded by the Department for Business’s Strategic Investment Fund (SIF), which supports markets and technologies where the UK has proven strengths and competitive potential. The facility will offer businesses access to state-of-the-art facilities, together with consultancy services and tailored training packages. It will seek to stimulate business growth by encouraging companies to share knowledge and collaborate on product development, and by supporting new start-ups with advice and guidance. The project will be delivered through the universities of Swansea and Cardiff, which will provide the technology and skills base to support R&D projects. It is expected to create more than 400 new jobs across the digital, low-carbon, health, bio-science, engineering and advanced manufacturing sectors, the majority in skilled technical and scientific fields, including image processing, animation, 3D visualisation, data mining and simulations.

A $1.52 billion ‘green’ data centre targeting $5.6 billion of potential inward investment has been approved for Scotland. Engineering consultant WYG, based in Leeds, Yorkshire and Humber, has helped secure planning permission for Lockerbie Data Centres at the Peelhouses Farm development in Dumfries and Galloway. The development, which is expected to start next year, will focus on web commerce, information technology, international digital communications and horticultural research.
 

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