Hello and welcome to Thank Frank Its Friday, the best way to round off the week. In this edition we have news on the Victoria Station revamp, news about Daisy, Deloitte and CBRE, with ANS group bequeathed the honour of ‘Business of the Week’. After the revealing of plans for a Travelodge hotel on the Boddingtons brewery site Ken Knott is our ‘Man of the Week’, and Dougal Paver reveals all in ‘Who Are Yer?’ Enjoy TFI, have a great weekend and don't do anything Frank wouldn't do...

Plans to redevelop Manchester Victoria railway station could be revealed within the next month, according to Sir Howard Bernstein, chief executive of Manchester City Council.

Sir Howard, speaking at a meeting of Cityco, the council's city centre management arm, said the station was one of the priorities relating to the city's public transport strategy, which is currently out for consultation.

Plans for the station will include refurbishment of the building itself, a new roof, increased retail space and better public facilities, although progress on the proposed redevelopment has stalled.

Nelson-based telecoms firm Daisy Group has bought BNS Telecom Group plc for £10.45m in cash to strengthen its position in the mobile phone reseller market.

The company, which earlier this month bought Nottingham-based data networks installer Managed Communications for £6.3m, will pay 20p for each BNS Share, a 220 per cent premium to the closing price of BNS shares on the day the group's shares ceased to trade on AIM in June.

Daisy has already received agreements to accept the offer in respect of almost 84 per cent of BNS' issued share capital.

Deloitte, the business advisory firm, is to launch a VAT School in Manchester in March to help its clients broaden and deepen their understanding of the latest VAT principles and issues. 

The Deloitte VAT School will comprise eight intensive one day tutorials over the course of a year.  The programme, based on Deloitte’s own in-house training programme and delivered by the firm’s senior VAT specialists, will range from the exploration of indirect tax principles to a deeper knowledge of specialised and topical VAT issues.

Myles Duckworth, indirect tax partner at Deloitte in the North West, said: “We are pleased to announce the launch of the Deloitte VAT School. It is in response to feedback from clients who tell us there is a need for more intensive training aimed at in-house VAT specialists.  As such we have formulated this structured course designed specifically with in-house VAT advisors in mind to assist them to be more effective through greater knowledge of the relevant issues.”

The School will be divided into two modules, each consisting of four sessions:

Module 1

Session 1 – VAT – legal framework
Session 2 – Supply issues – core principles
Session 3 – Supply issues – advanced concepts
Session 4 – Input tax deduction

Module 2

Session 5 – Land and property
Session 6 – International business
Session 7 – VAT accounting systems and administration
Session 8 – Dispute resolution and corporate transactions

To sign up to the Deloitte VAT School, or for more information, go to www.deloitte.co.uk/VATschool

International property investment and asset management company, St Martins, and CB Richard Ellis have let 5,271 sq ft at Boulton House, Manchester.

Boulton House has recently undergone extensive refurbishment, with the 4th and 6th floors fully renovated to include new perimeter trunking, air conditioning and LG7 lighting. Training company JHP Group has taken refurbished accommodation within the building on a 5-year lease at £14.50 per sq ft.

The letting to JHP has followed a recent letting of the third floor at Boulton House to training company, i2i, which took 3,927 sq ft on a 5-year lease. 

Located on Chorlton Street, just off Portland Street and in close proximity to Piccadilly,
Boulton House is an ideal base for businesses looking to make the most of the city’s excellent transport links to the rest of the region, as well as Piccadilly’s status as one of the city’s main business districts.

Technology infrastructure specialist, ANS Group, has helped to dramatically improve GP productivity within NHS Coventry, by implementing Cisco’s Wide Area Application Network Services (WAAS).

NHS Coventry is responsible for the welfare of over 300,000 people and, with targets to reach for improving healthcare provision and quality of service to patients, it is vital that GPs are able to access patient records as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Gigabits of patient data are stored centrally and delivered via a Wide Area Network (WAN) to GP practices across Coventry. To be able to achieve the necessary standards in patient care the WAN had to be fit for purpose, yet there were frequent issues with accessing the right data quickly and efficiently.

By implementing Cisco’s WAAS solution, ANS Group was able to provide a Local Area Network (LAN)-like performance across the area, speeding up application delivery and aiding GPs in working quickly and more efficiently by offering locally hosted IT services.

Paul Sweeney, managing director of ANS Group, commented: “With the necessary technology now in place, staff working within the Trust can rest assured that they will be able to access patient data extremely quickly and the highest level of patient care can be assured.

After the news that the former Boddingtons brewery site has been earmarked for a 200-bed Travelodge hotel, we honour the Chief Executive of one of the companies hoping to see the plans through to the end.

Ken Knott is this week’s man of the week.

A massive game of Trivial Pursuit.

Men Vs Women. The battles of the sexes.

Your side needs you!

Plus get a question right or wrong and be rewarded with a rather amusing video clip.

This production promises to deliver what the Royal Exchange do best…..Classic Quality Theatre

Royal Exchange Theatre February 24th – 27th March
By George Orwell

WORLD PREMIERE of Matthew Dunster's sensual and sinister adaptation
War is Peace.  Freedom is Slavery.  Ignorance is Strength.
Winston Smith rewrites history for the Ministry of Truth, but when he's handed a note that says simply 'I love you' by a woman he hardly knows, he decides to risk everything in a search for the real truth.  In a world where cheap entertainment keeps the proles ignorant but content, where a war without end is always fought and the government is always watching, can Winston possibly hold onto what he feels inside?  Or will he renounce everything, accept the Party's reality and learn to love Big Brother?  This is a world premiere of Matthew Dunster's SENSUAL and SINISTER adaptation of George Orwell's classic.

For more information and online booking http://www.royalexchangetheatre.org.uk/event.aspx?id=219

The ‘Business Club with Attitude’ launches in Manchester on Thursday 11th March 2010.

The event, which will take place at Cloud 23, The Hilton Hotel has already proved more popular than even we anticipated. Over 200 people have already registered for this event.

With this in mind we have taken the decision to close registrations.

Apologies to anyone who wishes to attend but has not registered.  

We look forward to seeing everyone who has registered on the night!

26th February, 12:00 noon, EastzEast
Riverside Branch, off Deansgate, Manchester.

In association with Downtown Manchester in Business.

With Rugby Legend Dean Richards and Comedian Jamie Sutherland.

Just £45 per person + VAT

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Name: Dougal Paver

Company: Paver Smith

Position: Managing Director

Red or Blue: Blue (Everton)

Brown or Cameron: Cameron

What’s your Tipple: Guinness, washed down with a Jameson

Top Tune: Child of the Universe by Barclay James Harvest

Favourite Book: Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell

Favourite Movie: Lamb, with Liam Neeson

Who would play you in a film: Danny de Vito

Favourite TV Programme: The Shield

Most visited website: google

Celebrity Crush: Never had one – though Myleen Klass is a bit nifty

Interesting Fact about you: I was shot in the head age 13 and the bullets still in there.  Explains a lot, really.

Why Downtown: Focus, energy and brings good people together