Business briefs: Car manufacturers remain in top gear | Vaillant Group | Ladbrokes | Paterson Arran

Published on 22/02/2013 00:00

Car production edged ahead last month but commercial vehicle manufacturing slumped, industry figures have revealed.

A total of 129,049 cars were produced in the UK in January 2013 – 1.2 per cent up on the January 2012 figure, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said.

The car total performance last month was particularly notable as production had soared 15.6 per cent in January 2012 compared with January 2011.

Commercial vehicle production, however, fell 20.5 per cent last month to 7,822, with further falls expected.

Maxim attracts £1m Vaillant deal

Vaillant Group, owner of the Vaillant and Glow-worm brands, has taken a 10,000 sq ft unit at the Maxim Office Park at Eurocentral off the A8, one of Britain’s biggest speculative developments which has struggled to attract tenants.

The £1 million investment will see the facility become an information and training hub for heating installers and contractors across Scotland and the north of England. It is expected to open in April.

Maxim’s Craig Ritchie believes Vaillant ’s arrival is a coup for Scotland. “Vaillant is an industry leader,” he said.

Ladbrokes’ betting shops set a record

Ladbrokes has announced record takings from its UK betting shops after a run of favourable results and another surge in revenues from gaming machines.

Annual retail turnover of £739.5 million was up 8.2 per cent on a year earlier and came despite a significant rise in cancelled horseracing meetings.

The firm’s gross win margin, which measures the amount left by losing punters, was up more than one percentage point to 16.7 per cent following good results in football and racing and improvements in Ladbrokes’ own pricing.

Paterson top of shortbread market

Paterson Arran has retained the title as Britain’s best-selling branded shortbread.

Kantar research figures show that £4 out of every £10 that is spent on shortbread in the UK is on the Paterson brand.

The firm has been the fastest-growing brand within the shortbread category and continues to be the number one brand in Scotland with a market share of 23.5 per cent.

Within the total shortbread market, it has increased its share by more than 400 per cent since 2007. The British shortbread market is worth £67 million and the branded category continues to grow.