Issue 5, 2010
Welcome to the Fifth edition of 2010 of the Humber Economic Partnership’s monthly Market Intelligence Bulletin, designed to keep you posted on the latest developments affecting the Hull and Humber Ports City-region in terms of business investment news, mergers and acquisitions activity, major job gains or losses, plus any interesting policy or project announcements.
We hope you find this publication of interest. Your views are important to us and we would welcome your feedback on how this publication might be improved. Issue 6 of the Bulletin will be published in July 2010.
HEADLINES
Building work starts on Scunthorpe Health and Social Care Centre
Construction of the Health and Social Care Centre on West Street in Scunthorpe has begun, following the news that funding for the surgery had been approved by the Yorkshire and Humber Strategic Health Authority. The new centre will provide a state of the art base for GP surgeries and other services in the North Lincolnshire town. Completion of the building is scheduled in Autumn 2011.
Grimsby becomes a Minster town
In a special service, St James’ Parish Church has been declared as Grimsby Minster. It will now become a hub from which clergy will give support to residents and parishes. There is also a proposal to create a Cathedral Close in St James’ Square and construct new buildings to reflect the historic character of the area.
Work begins on West Park improvements
The initial phase of the redevelopment of West Park in Kingston upon Hull has commenced this month, with work underway on the new Anlaby Road entrance. Around £7 million is to be invested in the park over the next six years. Funded by the regeneration agency Gateway, work on the initial phase of the development is expected to be completed in September 2010.
Consultation begins on River Hull flood defence
The Environment Agency has began a consultation on draft plans to manage the flood risk from the River Hull over the next 20 years. The River Hull Flood Risk Management Strategy outlines how an investment of £109 million was needed over the next 20 years to manage the flood risk to about 100,000 homes and businesses in Kingston upon Hull and its surrounding area in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Plans include raising the flood defence walls and dredging the River Hull to increase its capacity. A public consultation into the proposals will run until August 2010.
Seafood Village plans submitted
Plans for work to begin on the £2.5 million Seafood Village in Grimsby have been submitted to North East Lincolnshire Council. Plans include 20 modern fish processing units with offices, a waste processing unit and a new access road situated on land near to Grimsby Fish Dock.
Plans unveiled for Hull Superstore
Developers Dransfield Properties has unveiled plans for a new superstore in Kingston upon Hull. Plans outline the construction of a 92,500 square foot supermarket situated opposite the Mount Pleasant Retail Park. Plans also include eight smaller shops fronting Holderness Road, a petrol filling station, 600 car parking spaces and a new piece of public art. Possible tenants for the development have yet to be announced. An outline planning application for the site is expected to be submitted later this year.
MARKET NEWS
Tata reports £356.5 million pre-tax profit
Tata Steel Europe, the parent company of the Scunthorpe Corus Steelworks has reported a £356.5 million pre-tax profit for the second half of the 2009-2010 financial year. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, increased by more than $1.3 billion over the period, which Tata has attributed to improvements in productivity and efficiency. To combat a 35 percent slump in European steel demand, savings amounted to £1 billion during the year through the company-wide cost saving and restructuring programmes.
Rollits restructures
York and Kingston upon Hull based law firm Rollits has announced a major restructuring which will see it change from a traditional law firm partnership to a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP). The move will remove the unlimited liability of individual partners and is intended to give the firm the right corporate structure for its future development.
3G secures £17 million contract
Kingston upon Hull based distribution firm, 3G, has secured a contract with pan-Asian noodle restaurant chain wagamama worth £17 million. 3G specialise in multi-temperature food service distribution and the two-year contract continues the relationship between the firms. 3G will now supply a tailored logistics solution for the supply and distribution of a wider range of products.
Young’s release World Cup range and the Findus Group announce pledge
Grimsby based fish firm Young’s has signed a deal with GO3 and David Beckham to launch a new healthy range of fish products to coincide with the World Cup. The GO3 Omega-3 ingredient has now been added to the new range. Young's will support the launch with a multi-million pound integrated marketing campaign including new packaging that features the face of the footballer.
Findus Group, the parent company of Young’s and the Seafood Company, has pledged to ensure that all wild caught fish will be from fisheries with the highest certification standards by 2012. The company, based at Ross House in Grimsby, will seek out the Marine Stewardship Council standard from all suppliers as a part of the long-term “Fish For Life” commitment to sustainable seafood.
Croda sells KLK Emmerich GmbH
The natural chemical producer Croda, which has significant operations in Goole, East Riding of Yorkshire, has announced the sale of a site in Germany and its associated business KLK Emmerich GmbH. At £52.8 million, the deal “largely completes” Croda’s restructuring programme, which has seen it reposition its oleochemical operations. KLK is to assume IAS19 retirement benefit obligations relating to the businesses of approximately £30.7 million as a part of the transaction. As a result, the cash payable at the completion of the deal will be £22.1 million.
Northern Rail franchise extended
Transport operator Northern Rail is to continue to run services across the north of England for another three years. The Department for Transport (DfT) has awarded a two year extension to its franchise, which is due to run out in September 2011. Owned by Serco and Abellio, Northern Rail has met its operational performance targets across the 2,500 daily services it runs. Since taking over the franchise in 2004, it has increased passenger numbers and reduced cancellations.
Pulse Tidal wins £8 million EU grant
Renewable energy technology company, Pulse Tidal, has been awarded an £8 million euro grant from the European Union to expand the new technology. The Sheffield based company has been operating an experimental device in the Humber Estuary which generates energy from tidal sources. The technology will now be tested off the coast of Scotland. Pulse Tidal has started a year long environmental study ahead of an application for a license to start producing the first 1.2 MW of electricity in 2012.
MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
Asda acquires Netto
Supermarket chain Asda has acquired the UK Netto Foodstores operations from the Danish group Dansk Supermarked. The deal, which is worth £778 million, will see the 193 Netto stores in the UK converted into small Asda stores by summer 2011.
Cleethorpes pier acquired
The Cleethorpes Pier nightclub, in North East Lincolnshire, has been acquired by businessman Bryn IIsley, following the news that the pier went into receivership in March 2010.
JOBS GAINS AND LOSSES
Retail chain Primark is to create 90 new full and part time jobs in Scunthorpe, as the firm plan to open its first store in North Lincolnshire. It store is currently occupied by BHS, owned by Arcadia, and will cease trading on July 31st 2010. A consultation is currently underway with 28 employees at the branch over possible redeployment across BHS and Arcadia.
70 new jobs have been created in Kingston upon Hull as accommodation manufacturing firm Panaloc Worldwide Manufacturing has relocated to the city from its previous Manchester facility. The move will see the firm operate from a 100,000 square foot plant along Hedon Road. The firm are currently finalising commission of the new plant in readiness for full production this year.
60 jobs are to be created at the Riverhead retail park in North East Lincolnshire, following the news that retailers B&M Homestore will occupy the former MFI store on the site.
8 full and part time jobs have been lost at Faith’s store in Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, following the retail chain entering into administration in April 2010.
780 civilian workers at Humberside Police have been offered redundancy as the force looks for efficiency savings. Applications will be accepted until August 31st 2010 from civilian staff who do not directly support police officers. It is unclear as to how many people are expected to leave the police force.
Between 10 and 15 jobs are to be lost with the changeover of The Lindsey School and Performing Arts College to the new Cleethorpes Academy. It is thought that these jobs will mainly be mainly non-teaching and office roles.
CONTACT
For further information regarding the Market Intelligence Bulletin, please contact Dominic Chapman on 01482 596781 or e-mail research@humberep.co.uk | 
