CRAIN’S LIST Business associations ranked by Greater Manchester members Page 16 FOCUS Page 13 Meet the man bringing indoor alpine skiing to Trafford CRAI N’S CRAI N’S® MANCHESTER BUSINESS PROTOTYPE ISSUE, October 2007 CrainsManchesterBusiness.co.uk £2 What’s News MBS bids to raise £50m I Pink snooker tables are coming to Manchester’s Northern Quarter as part of a forthcoming explosion MBS, wants to see a £35m makeover He said the University of Man - Sue Marsden, managing director of new bars and live music venues. Business school could of the school’s buildings straddling chester authorities were comfortable of Lancaster-based Professional Crain’s understands that the be renamed if donor the junction of Booth Street and with naming MBS after a donor “if Fundraising Consultancy, says MBS respective owners of Common and Oxford Road. This will include a new the price is right”. has chosen a good time to seek a The King are to open a new venue stumps up enough upmarket hotel and conference facil - He would not be drawn on how major donor. each, offering live music. The own - ity plus new retail space. much it might cost – such arrange - “Manchester is thriving at the ers of M20 are also set to open a CRAIN’S STAFF REPORTER “I need to raise about £50m,” said ments can raise up to $100m in the moment and there has probably second Northern Quarter venue, with a 350 capacity, and city centre Luger. “We need to do a private-pub - US – but hopes to beat the £8m Sir never been a better time to be raising club One Central, owned by Ross Manchester Business School could lic partnership. A developer, we Paul Judge gave to the University of money from the business communi - McKenzie, will open a members- be renamed after a corporate or pri - believe, would find it very attractive. Cambridge to establish the Judge ty,” she said. “There are probably only, upmarket snooker hall in the vate donor as part of a major fund Cosmetic and structural changes of Institute for Management. Wafic more entrepreneurial and wealthy area, featuring pink baize tables, on raising drive. great significance would make the Said gave £20m to the business the corner of High Street and Professor Michael Luger, dean of place look very different.” school named after him at Oxford. SEE MBS , PAGE 18 Thomas Street. The owners of Trof are also looking for their third site after the successful launch of its Northern Quarter bar earlier this Skyscraper scramble as developers woo super-rich buyers year. N Brown’s I An aluminium smelter could be built in Ardwick. Howarth Metals is planning to turn a derelict site at Rondin Road into a recycling plant. untypical The development will include a 33- metre high flue to the foundry and the construction of two industrial buildings. The application is due to way to go to before committee on October 25, and a Manchester City Council spokesman told Crain’s that the online process had been lengthened by detailed environmental health stud - ies. Nobody from Howarth Metals was available to comment on the success plans as Crain’s went to press. I Oldham Council has pledged to CRAIN’S STAFF REPORTER support the 260 staff facing job losses at the town’s Slumberland Selling clothes to big women via the depot. The company’s Swedish owners, Hilding Anders, announced internet has led to fatter profits at N at the end of September that it was Brown Group (LSE: BWNG). to close the site to move all UK pro - Customers spent £73m via the duction to its Cambridgeshire plant. web in the 26 weeks to August 25, June Smith, principal regeneration 40.4 per cent up on the same period officer for business at Oldham last year. County Council, told Crain’s: “We The home shopping group now does 25 per cent of its sales online. Sign up for email news alerts: Twelve per cent of orders come crainsmanchesterbusiness. through the post and 63 per cent co.uk are phoned in. But digital marketing specialist have made several approaches to Jason Cozens, co-founder of Man - Slumberland to offer assistance in chester-based Bite Digital, says N helping those staff facing redun - Brown is not typical of an online dancy. The council has also offered to help Slumberland sell the site business because it drives cus - with a view to attracting the maxi - tomers to its sites mainly with tradi - mum number of new jobs.” tional media rather than search advertising. I Ask Developments and Realty GRAPHIC: SIMON TINNING Although N Brown has around 40 Estates have submitted a £250m different sites, Cozens has found plan to redevelop the former Bod - mixed-use developments are that many of them are marketing dingtons Brewery site in Manches - planned for Manchester city cen - the same products with much the ter’s Strangeways district. It MANCHESTER’S BUILDING tre and Salford in the near future, same content, but are re-skinned to includes 480 apartments with underground parking, a hotel, cafes with around half a dozen more at appeal to a different niche. and bars plus 500,000 sq ft of the architect’s vision stage, which The SimplyBe website, aimed at office space aimed at growing busi - will bring a staggering 3,700 new younger customers ranging from nesses which can’t afford city cen - apartments onto the market. At an size 14 to 32 and one of the compa - tre rents. Manchester City Council average cost of £250,000, they add ny’s sites which does use search leader Sir Richard Leese said he up to £925m of property vying for advertising, boosted turnover by 33 was pleased that the project was buyers’ attention. per cent in the period under review. forecast to create 1,850 jobs, com - “I do think footballers add to “They use their sites as online pared to the 123 who worked at the BOOM the health of the top end of the catalogues but they aren’t doing brewery when it closed in 2005. market,” said Julie Bennett, associ - much online marketing,” said Coz - But the council’s Liberal Democrat ate director at Julie Twist property ens. “It’s a transaction mechanism. I opposition is unhappy that apart - BY SIMON BINNS centre. agents, which specialises in city think they are missing out on online ments are included, arguing that CRAIN'S STAFF REPORTER Developers are scrambling to centre living. “Their attention is business from people who might the council previously said the site have plans for breathtaking resi - certainly drawn to any new devel - come to them through product SEE WHAT’S NEWS , PAGE 2 oung, cash-rich buyers, includ - dential developments approved to opment that has a high-profile search rather than brand aware - ing the NorthWest’s Premiership cash in on their appeal to the and a marketing strategy to match, ness. Yfootball stars, are driving super-rich and avoid the recent and it is likely any sales would be “N Brown has built up a very demand for high-end penthouse credit crunch in the housing mar - cash. good system of direct marketing apartments and exclusive skyscraper ket. and I suppose they think ‘If it ain’t living concepts in Manchester city At least eight high profile SEE BUILDING , PAGE 18 SEE ONLINE , PAGE 18 Leading Page 3 CO-OPERATIVE GROUP MARKETING CHIEF: WE’LL GET OUR BRANDING RIGHT THIS TIME 10 COMMENT PROTOTYPE ISSUE, October 2007 Our View A correction but no crash t seems incredible that bad loan books in the US mortgage market have led to a situation where well run and successful Icompanies in Manchester will struggle to borrow money. But as fear overtakes greed in the wake of the Northern Rock crisis, that is exactly the situation we face. Despite some sound economic fundamentals, we have a credit crunch which, in the worst case scenario, could even spark a totally unnecessary recession. Building societies and mortgage banks have already been forced to push up interest rates as a way of reining in their lending. After years when mortgages were available on tap, home buyers are getting a little taste of rationing. That will inevitably cause The damage is now problems for a couple of key drivers of the Greater done. No mortgage Manchester economy, the bank wants to be housing market and com - seen to be mercial property develop - ment. borrowing from the Those two sectors Bank of England’s depend as much as any - emergency loan thing on confidence and facility for fear of confidence is a fragile thing. The public is well sparking another aware that house prices We mean business outbreak of and the economy have irrational been on an upward curve Welcome to your indispensable map to Manchester’s economic growth for a long, long time and we withdrawals. all know that what goes up can often come down ou’re busy so I won’t waste your and comment, we will bring you unexpectedly. Ytime. Opinion information that will help you make There is a real danger that these fears will become a self- For me and everyone else at better business decisions and also to Crain’s Manchester Business, that find new people to do business with. fulfilling prophecy in more places than just the queues out - pledge underpins everything we do. Our lists will be a comprehensive side branches of Northern Rock. There is already an awful lot of guide to a whole range of sectors, But let’s not forget that Greater Manchester’s ability to media out there clamouring for your everything from professional servic - create jobs and suck in investment – this publication is attention.