HUGH PARRY RETURNS TO ASTRAEUS AIRLINES LIMITED.

ASTRAEUS AIRLINES

COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT SOURCING AND MANAGEMENT

PRESS RELEASE

October 21, 2011.

HUGH PARRY RETURNS TO ASTRAEUS AIRLINES LIMITED.

Hugh Parry, one of the founding directors of Gatwick-based aircraft management and leasing company Astraeus Airlines Limited, has returned to the business as Chief Executive.

Hugh, along with five other owner-directors, set up Astraeus in 2002 but left in 2007 to pursue ventures in India, China and across Europe. He is already in place at Astraeus’ Crawley headquarters, and takes over the role from Mario Fulgoni who left the business in August.

“It’s great to be back, and while there are exciting and challenging times across the aviation industry, Astraeus is well-placed to make the most of the environment, with an experienced and established team of people responsible for one of the most respected and reliable aircraft leasing and management offerings in the world,” said Hugh.

Hugh Parry is a UK Chartered Accountant. After qualifying with Arthur Young and working with Coopers & Lybrand and Ford Motor Company in Australia, he worked in the computer business before becoming Vice President Finance of Europe with National Semiconductors.

In 1983 he joined listed company Intasun Leisure Group plc and became a director of Air Europe in 1985, and then group finance director. Air Europe had a fleet of over 30 Boeing 757 and 737 aircraft. Following the demise of Air Europe in 1991 as a result of the Gulf War, Hugh then developed his own company – Fitzroy Aviation – which specialised in restructuring airlines around the world.

One of Fitzroy’s projects was starting British Mediterranean in 1994, which operated A320 aircraft to Beirut, Damascus and Amman. Hugh was its first Chief Executive. British Mediterranean was acquired for £30m by bmi in 2007.

Hugh has been involved at a senior level with airlines including Bahamasair, Qatar, Debonair, British World Airlines and Air Sahara in India.

Astraeus Airlines commenced operations in 2002, employs 250 people and operates a fleet of ten Boeing 737 and 757 aircraft, primarily on ACMI (aircraft, crew, maintenance, insurance) contracts with a number of airlines, including Iceland Express, Thomas Cook, Thomson and bmi. Astraeus has a worldwide Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) 180 ETOPS and is IOSA accredited. Astraeus is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eignarhaldsfelagid Fengur HF which also owns Iceland Express.

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley

+44 (0)7788 978800 / im@pressrelations.co.uk / www.flystar.com

Twitter @AEU_Astraeus

Twitter @Press-Relations

HOUSING UNITS ADDS ANOTHER TROPHY TO ITS RANGE OF CABINETS

HOUSING UNITS

PRESS RELEASE

October 20, 2011.

HOUSING UNITS ADDS ANOTHER TROPHY TO ITS RANGE OF CABINETS.

Photo available.

When the going gets tough, the tough win awards - and north Manchester-based home furnishings store Housing Units has added another trophy to its wide range of cabinets.

Housing Units has won the "Best department store" title in the Progressive Housewares magazine "Excellence in housewares" category after beating off competition almost entirely from affluent south-east England department stores.

"It costs nothing to go that extra inch in driving customer service standards, listening hard to what our customers want, moving heaven and earth to deliver the right sorts of promotions and events, and simply looking and feeling like a place where shoppers feel at home. But it costs a lot if you don't," said Nick Fox, director of Housing Units.

"The competition was tough - and the other nominees were very, very good - but we give our all day-in, day-out, and it pays off not just for us, but for our customers too.

"But it's a spiral: put in the effort, get the custom; get the custom, win the award, feel good, make the customer feel good - get the custom. And this is all massively down to the Housing Units staff -  we're certainly a family business, and when things get tough, we all feel the pain but we all then pull together; and the result is that we all win together".

The criteria for the award was: "Should be an individual department store or a specific branch of a department store chain. With excellence in areas across the retail spectrum including product range, staff training, customer care, marketing and promotion, window and product display and also have improvement achievement in improving sales, profitability and/or footfall over the last year."

"And with somebody else influential and expert saying something about us - it's a great accolade to hear," said Nick Fox.

Housing Units - known for its top-hatted doormen - was established in 1947.

It is a family-owned furnishings retailer based in Wickentree Lane, Failsworth, Manchester M35 9BA, next to Junction 22 of the M60. It stocks 30,000 high-quality lines across a range of departments in two buildings and a crescent of specialist shops, and prides itself on its unique style of customer service, the value of its goods and the shopping experience it provides.

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley

0161 929 0446/07788 978800

im@pressrelations.co.uk

www.housingunits.co.uk

LAWYER: £101 MILLION LOTTERY WIN WILL LEAD TO CLAIMS AVALANCHE FROM ESTRANGED PARTNERS AND RELATIVES.

GEORGE DAVIES SOLICITORS LLP

PRESS RELEASE

October 14, 2011.

LAWYER: £101 MILLION LOTTERY WIN WILL LEAD TO CLAIMS AVALANCHE FROM ESTRANGED PARTNERS AND RELATIVES.

A leading divorce lawyer is predicting an avalanche of relationship-testing share-of-winnings claims by estranged partners and relatives of £101 million lottery winners Dave and Angela Dawes.

Robin Charrot of George Davies Solicitors, who handles high-value divorces for celebrities and sportspeople, says the size of the win is certainly enough to make it worth a fight in the courts.

“The bigger the windfall, the further the claim ripples will spread. For the friends and family members who were already divorced or separated, this sudden windfall potentially creates some interesting legal issues: If the winning couple pay the money to one of them, does the other have a claim over it?” said Robin.

“The answer is uncertain, but there would certainly be enough money to make it worth a fight in the courts to find out – but there’s also the potential for out-of-court settlements or handouts to marginal claimants simply to make them go away.

“After all, the interest on such a sum could be anything between £100,000 and £1 million a week depending upon how and where it is invested.

“Money always brings out the worst in people, and I’m not surprised that everyone is coming out of the woodwork.

“A sudden influx of a lot of money - for the winning couple and anyone they make millionaires - can create relationship strains in itself, for example, they may give up work, and find they are spending too much time together, with no outside distractions, apart from constant begging from other family and friends.

“I would urge they pay a great deal of attention to the official lottery-appointed advisers, and while they undoubtedly have some great adventures ahead of them, there are going to be some very tough decisions to make when it comes to allocating money to people in their circle – after all, where do they draw the line?”

Ends

For further information:

Lindsey Farrelly

LindseyFarrelly@georgedavies.co.uk

0161 234 8802

07717 177609

Iain Macauley

im@pressrelations.co.uk

07788 978800

Notes to editor:

About George Davies Solicitors LLP: George Davies Solicitors LLP is a 19 partner law firm based in the heart of Manchester city centre. Established over 70 years ago it provides an extensive range of legal services to a national client base. Recent awards and accreditations include; ratings in independent legal directories - Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners UK; Winner of the Medium Law Firm of the Year 2011 in the Manchester Legal Awards; North West Employment Team of the Year in the Corporate INTL Magazine Awards 2010; adviser on the Deal of the Year sub £5million at the 2010 Insider Dealmakers Awards and is one of only five legal firms in the country to hold the Investors in People Silver standard.

CQC REPORT: SYSTEM OVERWHELMED - ELDERLY SHOULD BE AT HOME, NOT IN HOSPITAL.

SAGA

QUOTES 
 
October 13, 2011. 

CQC REPORT: SYSTEM OVERWHELMED - ELDERLY SHOULD BE AT HOME, NOT IN HOSPITAL.

 
Commenting on the CQC report into care of the elderly in hospital, Paul Green, head of communications for the over-50s group Saga, said:
 
“There are far too many older people in hospital because of lack of provision of suitable social and medical care in the community. What’s more, the proportion of patients in hospital who are frail and elderly is steadily rising - and they have much greater care needs which sometimes completely overwhelm the hospital staffing resource. 
 
“The key question could well be whether the conditions reported by the CQC are sparked by demoralised staff, poor management or financial pressures – each of which can be addressed – or whether a poor attitude towards the elderly and vulnerable is becoming endemic – which is not so easily addressed. 
 
“The vast majority of nursing staff are caring, conscientious and committed. The one question the report does not appear to answer is why this attitude has developed, and why in some hospitals and not others. 
 
“That it is not common across all hospitals means that there are clearly specific issues at specific hospitals, which provide a solid basis for investigation and redress. 
 
“Nevertheless, it is yet more evidence that the elderly and vulnerable continue to be dealt poor hands when it comes to care and support.” 

Ends

Further information:

For further information:

Saga Press Office
01303 771529.

www.saga.co.uk

Iain Macauley
im@pressrelations.co.uk
07788 978800

TV HOME DESIGN AND LIFESTYLE SHOWS? MORE PLEASE – THEY’RE BOOSTING OUR ECONOMY, SAY HOUSING UNITS

HOUSING UNITS

PRESS RELEASE

October 11, 2011.

TV HOME DESIGN AND LIFESTYLE SHOWS? MORE PLEASE – THEY’RE BOOSTING OUR ECONOMY, SAY HOUSING UNITS.

They may seem to be wall-to-wall on TV, but the overwhelming current crop of home design and lifestyle shows are doing massive favours for the UK furnishings and interiors industry.

Nick Fox, director of north Manchester-based furnishings store Housing Units, says that regardless of how tacky, tear-jerking or turgid the home design programmes are, they are inspiring homeowners into spending on changes or improvements.

“Customers will come in to the store sometimes completely undecided about what they want, but will simply refer to a TV home design or lifestyle show and say they want something the same or just like what they saw,” said Nick.

“This is where we have an advantage in that we have in-house designers who overdose on these programmes so know exactly what most customers are talking about.

“The trend is to buy complete makeovers for entire rooms – and customers are specifying not just UK-style design, but design and furnishings they have seen on travel programmes, or home-search shows abroad.

“It is genuinely creating a new niche of demand, and there is a very definite drive towards Italian-inspired interior design.”

Housing Units – known for its top-hatted doormen - was established in 1947. It is a family-owned furnishings retailer based in Wickentree Lane, Failsworth, Manchester M35 9BA, next to Junction 22 of the M60. It stocks 30,000 high-quality lines across a range of departments in two buildings and a crescent of specialist shops, and prides itself on its unique style of customer service, the value of its goods and the shopping experience it provides.

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley

0161 929 0446/07788 978800

im@pressrelations.co.uk

www.housingunits.co.uk

UK EXPERTISE AND US PACE – BUILD BRITAIN OUT OF DOWNTURN, SAYS "RE-IMPORTED" MCBAINS COOPER DIRECTOR

MCBAINS COOPER

PROPERTY & CONSTRUCTION CONSULTANCY

PRESS RELEASE

October 11, 2011.

UK EXPERTISE AND US PACE – BUILD BRITAIN OUT OF DOWNTURN, SAYS NEW MCBAINS COOPER DIRECTOR.

What happens in the USA today has to happen in the UK tomorrow – and nowhere is it more critical than in the property and construction sector.

That’s the considered but urgent view of Richard Fewings, newly-appointed director of London-based international property and construction consultancy McBains Cooper, who joins the firm after nine years’ gathered scar tissue working in the fastest, toughest property market in the world – Manhattan, New York.

“My brief at McBains Cooper is cost management and quantity surveying on current and forthcoming major projects in the UK and internationally, and while I was ‘exported’ to the USA because they have immense respect for the expertise and experience of the British construction industry, I’ve ‘re-imported’ myself into the UK and realised just how devastatingly dominant we could be as an international design and construction power if we combined UK expertise with US-style pace and urgency,” said Richard.

“In fact, having been exposed to big projects on both sides of the Atlantic, I believe UK construction and property expertise combined with a bit of Manhattan-level pace could establish Britain as the absolutely dominant source of professional consultancy, worldwide, for generations.

“That may sound a little aloof or ambitious, but UK construction professionals are the best in the world. When you combine that with the aggressive accelerated delivery New York is noted for, it’s a very strong package.”

Richard, who has worked on blue chip office, residential, hotel, retail in the USA – sectors he’ll be focussing on in the UK and internationally - believes that one of the areas where pace and cost management can be improved is by being as demanding on behalf of UK project clients and investors as the most demanding investors in Manhattan - where he was involved in billions of dollars worth of construction projects.

“We have to take every opportunity to squeeze the procurement and delivery process, such as far more frequent progress and co-ordination meetings than is the UK norm, fully exploiting pre-ordering opportunities, and maximising use of overseas suppliers to drive competition,” he said.

“The upside: faster turnover and delivery of projects will further enhance the reputation of UK professionals abroad.”

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley

07788 978800 im@pressrelations.co.uk

www.mcbainscooper.com

Notes.

McBains Cooper

McBains Cooper is an inter-discipline consultancy, specialising in property, infrastructure and construction, offering a wide range of consulting and design services including architectural, aesthetic or technical design, problem solving, budget management, facilities management, health and safety, sustainability consultancy and on-the-ground civil engineering. Driving and supporting projects ranging from minor works to major contracts worth more than £100 million, McBains Cooper operates across a variety of sectors throughout the UK, Europe and Latin America. McBains Cooper is committed to environmental, social and economic sustainable development and their integrated approach means they deliver effective, award-winning solutions to their clients. The Group employs 150 people. McBains Cooper has regional headquarters in London (head office), Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester, Oxford, Windsor, Athens, Lima (Peru), Miami and Mexico, with associate offices in Belfast and Dublin. www.mcbainscooper.com

HOLLYWOOD STARS DRIVE HOLLINWOOD BABY ECONOMIC BOOM.

HOUSING UNITS

PRESS RELEASE

October 5, 2011.

HOLLYWOOD STARS DRIVE HOLLINWOOD BABY ECONOMIC BOOM.

The power of Hollywood celebrity endorsement is pushing a baby economic boom in Hollinwood, near Oldham, as parents flock to buy the latest A-list accessory for their new arrivals - prams that cost as much as a car.

Housing Units’ Coo Chi Coo nursery store has seen a quadrupling of sales in the past six months of top-of-the-range Dutch-made Bugaboo prams and buggies – the average price is £800, but versions costing up to £2,000 each are also in steep demand.

“Every time Gwyneth Paltrow, Mariah Carey or another A-lister add to their family, they go out and buy a Bugaboo, get snapped pushing new baby in it, end up all over the media, and we get a surge in demand for our premium prams because they become must-have cool,” said Nick Fox, director of Housing Units.

“Parents simply must have the best for their new arrival – especially if it’s their first baby – and there’s no better advertisement or attention-grabber than a Hollywood celebrity pushing their offspring.

“It’s known as the ‘Kate Effect’ when it comes to women’s clothing – but the Queens of Hollywood draw the same attention. Whenever one of them steps out, with or without baby, then every fashion and gossip journalist on the planet wants to know what they and their kids are wearing or using.

“It’s not lost on us that some of the top-end prams cost the same as a reasonable second-hand car – but the premium brands are a genuine investment, and will often be in a family for a good few new arrivals – and possibly on to later generations too.”

The average price of prams and buggies sold at Coo Chi Coo is around £500, while the store itself – on Housing Units’ retail park – is seeing something of a baby boom itself, with sales steadily increasing across the board, with everything from basic baby clothes and equipment to top-end flagship brands performing strongly.

Housing Units – known for its top-hatted doormen - was established in 1947. It is a family-owned furnishings retailer based in Wickentree Lane, Failsworth, Manchester M35 9BA, next to Junction 22 of the M60. It stocks 30,000 high-quality lines across a range of departments in two buildings and a crescent of specialist shops, and prides itself on its unique style of customer service, the value of its goods and the shopping experience it provides.

Ends

Further information:

Iain Macauley

0161 929 0446/07788 978800

im@pressrelations.co.uk

www.housingunits.co.uk