Europe

The UK government has announced a £6.5 million investment in engineering skills for the renewable energy industry.

Business secretary Vince Cable said the scheme would provide training for up to 50 of the best engineering students as part of a new Industrial Doctorate Centre in Offshore Renewable Energy, delivered through leading universities and industry.

The students will be trained in technologies such as designing cost-efficient new windmill blades and testing the latest wave energy technology.

The UK’s Haulfryn Group has returned to 100 per cent family ownership after 43 years, it has been announced.

The group, which is the UK's largest combined holiday and residential park operator, has stated that the return to 100 per cent family ownership is key to its long-term growth and branding.

The group operates 35 luxury holiday and residential lodge parks across north Wales, the south-east and the south west; and last year reported a substantial rise in profits as well as a £60 million refinancing deal with Barclays Corporate.

UK bank Barclays has launched a £100 million fund for UK farmers investing in renewable energy.

Developed with sector specialists, the fund is available for solar, wind, and hydro projects in the UK, with Barclays including projected feed-in-tariffs when assessing each loan.

The bank said that new figures show that over one third of the UK’s 200,000 farmers are expecting to invest in renewable energy, with the majority doing so within the next year. It added that farmers expect the investment to generate returns averaging £25,000 per year.

Scottish entrepreneur Jim McColl is to sell Clyde Union Pumps, the business he joined as an apprentice, to American Fortune 500 company SPX Corporation.

Glasgow-headquartered Clyde Union Pumps will continue to be run as a standalone business under the leadership of the same management team.

Tullow Oil has announced that a long-awaited deal in Uganda is to be completed next month.

The news, which sent the company’s shares rocketing yesterday, was made as the company released its results for the first half of 2011.

Tullow has been waiting since last year to finalise a deal that will bring in new partners, France's Total and China's CNOOC, to commence a €7 billion oil development project in Uganda. The company now expects to complete the deal in September, at which time it will receive approximately €2 billion from the two companies.

Members of Norwich & Peterborough Building Society (N&P) have voted in favour of a merger with Yorkshire Building Society (YBS), the UK’s second largest building society.

Of those who voted, 89.61 per cent of savers and 87.22 per cent of borrowers voted in favour of N&P to merge with YBS.

The newly merged society will have three million members, approximately £34 billion of assets and a national network of 224 branches and 89 agency offices.

Software provider Skype is to acquire US-based GroupMe, a provider of mobile group messaging services, it has been announced.

Luxembourg-based Skype said the acquisition will underpin its drive to provide a global multi-modal and multi-platform communications experience, complementing Skype's existing market position in voice and video communications by providing “best in class” text-based communications and innovative features enabling users to connect, share locations and photos and make plans.

Israeli food flavourings company Frutarom Industries has acquired UK-based Aromco for £15 million, it has been announced.

The transaction is Frutarom’s fourth acquisition of a flavour company since the beginning of 2011.

Hertfordshire-based Aromco develops, manufactures and markets flavours for the beverage, dairy, confectionary, bakery and savoury markets. The company had sales of £7.7 million in 2010.

Until very recently, Greenland has been a sleeping giant with regard to oil and gas exploration. Hans Kristian Olsen and Stig-Morten Knutsen of the national oil company Nunaoil talk to Gay Sutton about the prospects for a significant discovery and how they will ensure the Greenlandic people will benefit.

Pascal Mittermaier, head of sustainability EMEA for leading global property solutions provider Lend Lease, talks to Gay Sutton about the challenges of sustainable construction.