IRISH hotel group Bewley's has announced that it has acquired the Holiday Inn Garden Court at Manchester Airport.

It has bought the hotel from Manchester Airport plc and plans to add 120 new bedrooms and refurbish 148 existing standard rooms. Further improvements will include the development of the existing meeting and conference facilities.

Firms' problems begin at home

NEARLY one in four small and medium-sized enterprises in the North-west have had problems finding suitable accommodation, it is claimed in the Spacia Small Business Property Monitor 2003.

Failures on increase

BUSINESS failures in the North-west increased by 10.9 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year. But the figures from business solutions company Experian show that the situation was worse in the South-west (18.5 per cent), East Anglia (18.1 per cent) and the West Midlands (15.4 per cent).

Recruits left alone

AN on-line employment survey by corporate recovery and insolvency firm Begbies Traynor found that 42 per cent of new recruits formed the initial impression that their company lacked organisation.

A significant 59 per cent were left to their own devices on the first day and only 32 per cent were assigned a "buddy" -- somebody on the same level who can provide help and advice.