Ion gears up for Birkenhead development

KPMG, administrator of Patisserie Holdings, has confirmed the closure of 27 Patisserie Valerie stores, 19 Druckers stores and 25 Patisserie Valerie concessions, ten of the closures in the North West.

Six directors, including one based in Wirral, have been banned for a total of 54 years after more than 300 investors lost a combined £12m on residential property, including a scheme in Manchester.

Halton Council has picked BDP to draw up a five-year masterplan and delivery strategy to guide the regeneration of Astmoor Industrial Estate in Runcorn.

St Helens Council’s cabinet will next week be asked to approve the draft of the borough’s Local Plan, a key feature of which is a reduced target for housing completions, from 570 per year to 486. 

The Warrington-based developer, behind projects including Sci-Tech Daresbury and the regeneration of Parkside Colliery, has reported a 29% increase in net asset value and an increase in profit in its annual results.

The PRS REIT, the fund set up to invest in new-build private rented sector housing, has signed contracts on four development sites, two of them in Salford and one in Knowsley.

Sefton Council has lost its legal fight to order Highways England to re-consult on proposals to ease traffic on the A5036 Dunnings Bridge Road by building a dual carriageway through Rimrose Valley country park.

The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority is relaunching its flagship Single Investment Fund, aiming for an era in which the Combined Authority “provides a steady flow of funding” as it targets £1.3bn investment in the region from Government over the next seven years.

Northern cities have enjoyed such a sustained period of growth that it is hard to imagine the boom coming to an end. However, despite the prevailing optimism, there have been casualties among developers and investors, writes Alastair Lomax of TLT and Steve Williams of FRP Advisory.