Mark Beyer

THE slowdown in mining project development last year has affected the Perth office market, with the vacancy rate for CBD offices recording a modest increase to 5.7 per cent in January.

PERTH’S property market has had a busy start to the year, with offshore investors and local syndicators negotiating five purchases worth about $230 million.

A SPECIALIST fabrication workshop at Henderson has secured a unique contract to manufacture a deep-sea diving system for the Russian Navy.

Former car parts supplier Coventry Group is looking to expand its fledgling IT operation by purchasing Perth-based company Multiprogramming Pty Ltd, which trades as Multipro IT.

Global Energy Group has made its third acquisition in Western Australia in the space of 18 months, buying fabrication business Oil & Gas Engineering for an undisclosed sum.

Four Perth property sales worth $210 million have been announced in the past fortnight, including Herdsman’s largest office building, an iconic city shopping arcade and two industrial properties.

The administrators of Griffin Energy Group have welcomed key state government regulatory moves designed to clear the way for the sale of Bluewaters power station to Japanese companies Sumitomo Corp

It’s a perennial debate, but the latest indicators for the state and national economies show the glass really is half full.

Ausdrill’s new assay lab business is taking on the large international companies that now dominate the sector.

The establishment of Ron Sayers’ newest business shows the Ausdrill founder has lost none of his entrepreneurial flair but he also accepts the need for change at the large and diversified company.

FIVE public relations firms dominated the Western Australian corporate finance market last year, with FTI Consulting ranked a narrow winner based on the value of transactions it worked on.

The state government has committed to spend $70 million upgrading the beachfront at Scarborough and realigning the coastal road near Leighton and Port beaches.

McConnell Dowell Group’s construction arm Built Environs has won the main construction contract for a $330 million expansion project at Perth Airport.

International design and engineering firm Hyder Consulting has acquired Perth business BCH Engineering Consultants, which has built a sizeable niche in the Pilbara since being established six years

Property developer Adrian Fini is among a group of investors who have acquired the Sebel Hotel in Mandurah , five months after his old company Mirvac Group sold the property.

Nedlands-based Forge Group has won a $125 million contract to deliver a new peak-load power station in South Hedland for government utility Horizon Power.

Resource Development Group has won an engineering and project management contract at Norton Gold Fields’ $40 million Enterprise project.

Engineering contractor RCR Tomlinson has foreshadowed a 70 per cent increase in half-year net profit and says its outlook has been buoyed by developments in the Pilbara ion ore sector. 

The credibility of each party’s spending promises is emerging as a key issue in the unofficial state election campaign.

LEIGHTON Properties has stolen a march on rival developers, including Brookfield Properties, aiming to start work on Perth’s next large office buildings.

THE past 12 months was a lean time for lawyers working in the corporate finance field, with a slump in both takeover deals and capital raisings.

 WA Business News apologises to subscribers who have been inconvenienced by technical problems with the distribution of our daily emails.

The last time I saw Sam Walsh, it was just before Christmas and he was shopping with his wife at David Jones in Claremont.  As always, he had time to stop for a chat.

Events of the past month show that dealing with uncertainty continues to be one of the few certainties facing business.

WITH a sharp slump last year in the number and value of stock market floats, and little sign of a recovery, more emerging companies will likely pursue a backdoor listing.

Competition in the state’s investment banking sector is hotter than ever despite a fall-off in takeover deals and capital raisings last year.

TREASURER Troy Buswell and Labor’s Treasury spokesman Ben Wyatt have agreed to an exclusive face-to-face debate, to be hosted by WA Business News, in the final fortnight of the election ca

Sundance Resources is on the brink of big changes, as its 18-month takeover saga approaches a finale and its African iron ore project completes major milestones.

State treasurer Troy Buswell and Labor’s treasury spokesman Ben Wyatt have agreed to an exclusive face-to-face election debate, to be hosted by WA Business News, in the final fortnight of

Victoria has overtaken Western Australia to be the country’s most competitive state for business taxes, an updated study by the Institute of Public Affairs has found.

Gina Rinehart’s private company Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd has belatedly revealed the scale of its income and profits by lodging annual returns for 2010 and 2011 with the Australian Securities and

The upheavals in the iron ore sector dominated news in 2012 but our readers were also keen to hear about mining magnates, real estate, new hotels and one particular barrister.