FAST-GROWING insolvency practitioners Ratcliffe & Co have opened a corporate finance department as part of the firm's expansion plans for 2002.

Ratcliffe & Co -- which also has offices in Leeds, Sheffield, Newcastle upon Tyne and Preston -- moved into refurbished space in Victoria Square, Bolton, last July.

Then in May it acquired further premises in Chorley New Road to accommodate an expanding client and partner base.

The new department will be headed by Kevin Lucas who became a member of the Association of Chartered Accountants in September 2000. He previously worked for national firm Baker Tilly in Manchester.

Mr Lucas and his team will provide a corporate finance package which includes fund-raising, mergers, acquisitions, disposals, due diligence and valuation services.