Staff Reporters

MARGARET River vineyard Rosabrook is understood to have been sold to a group of local businessmen for $2.2 million.Palandri purchased the vineyard last year for around $2.8 million.

ANOTHER week, another announcement from one of Australia’s major companies that it needed to alienate its customers to improve its bottom line.

A NEW telecentre has officially opened in the northern Wheatbelt town of Bencubbin.The new facility is expected to deliver online and over-the-counter business services to the local shire’s 800 residents and people from surrounding districts.

KEEP an ear out for your suburb on the ABC’s new real estate slot on 6WF 720.The new weekly program will feature a different suburb each week, with comments from REIWA members.

THE Water Corporation is seeking interest in a four-hectare pocket of land in Shenton Park.The Water Corporation is in the process of selling land all over the metropolitan area that is no longer needed for their operations.

JONES Lang LaSalle executive director Peter Agostino has resigned from the position of executive director in Perth.An announcement was made to staff earlier this week, however Mr Agostino was unwilling to discuss his plans for the future.

SWIFTEL Ltd has signed an ISPDirect Agreement with a subsidiary of AAPT Ltd, Australia’s third-largest long-distance telco.

STRATATEL Ltd has secured contracts with two NSW State Government departments for the provision of its MobileFleet service.

DCA Group has announced the acquisition of two new aged care facilities at Tweed Heads and the Gold Coast for $13.4 million.It owns 80 per cent of I-Med, a network of service providers that includes the Perth Radiological Clinic.

JUMBUCK Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Q Multimedium Ltd (QMM), has signed a supply agreement with America Online Inc to provide wireless technology for mobile phone users in the USA.QMM did not release the value of the contract.

THE major accounting firms have a captive niche in the corporate finance market, but they all aspire to move up the value chain.

NEDLANDS-BASED software developer HarvestRoad has signed an enterprise-level agreement with the Defence Department for the provision of web content and workflow management applications

PERTH-BASED Lumacom Ltd has secured an order with the Adelaide South Park Hotel for a rooftop advertising display using the LumaPanel signage system.

A MAJOR development site at 378 Murray Street is back on the market with a $9 million price tag, plus GST.Lyrical Holdings has put the 5,120 square metre site back onto the market for sale by private treaty.

A LARGE eastern Australian energy retailer with WA links could be put up for sale.Pulse Energy has 1.1 million electricity and gas customers in Victoria and an annual revenue of $1 billion.

SUAN Australia Ltd is preparing to broaden its operations across Australia and in the South Pacific region by taking a 60 per cent stake in DSG (Australia) Pty Ltd.DSG Australia operates in Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia.

TENSIONS have risen even higher in the Middle East with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declaring war on terrorism. Throughout the week, pressure on PLO chairman Yasser Arafat has increased.

THE State Government has provided initial funding of $50,000 for Kalbarri to acquire a telecentre to serve the local community.

THE Fremantle Port is seeking expressions of interest for development of a 2.9-hectare site as part of the second stage of the Fremantle Waterfront Master Plan.

The title of executive chef has an air of authority to it, but after chatting to a few of Perth’s well-known executive chefs it becomes clear the moniker carries with it the responsibilities that go with any executive management position.

DEVELOPERS of the 290-hectare Gnangara Vineyard Project in Manjimup now has the way open to raise $19.2 million, more than three years after receiving an Australian Taxation Office Product Ruling.

DOME has committed to a retail outlet in LandCorp’s Marlston Waterfront development in Bunbury, south of Perth.

LOCAL electronic component manufacturer Miri Engineering is moving its operations to the Wangara Business Estate.The move will locate the business closer to its plastic injecting work, which also is completed on the estate.

TWO key bodies representing small businesses, the Combined Small Business Association of WA and the Small Business Alliance, have merged.

TWO prime sites are up for sale in Henderson, including the landmark pub The Ship and Dock Inn, and the former Eagle Aircraft property.

303 Advertising managing director Stephen Wells has resigned after 12 years with the agency.The surprise announcement follows a difficult year for the local advertising industry which has sustained a 30 per cent cut in Government spending.

WESTERN Australia lost a popular national resources conference to the eastern states this year.

THE completion of the Burswood International Resort Casino’s extensions and the opening of the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre are good news for the MICE market, and also for some of Perth’s best convention destinations – the five-star hotels.

BIBLE House at 161 St Georges Terrace, opposite King Street, is on the market, with analysts suggesting the site is worth around $5.5 million.

THE amount of investment choice offered by superannuation funds is highly varied, a report by research house InTech has found.

Aquarius Platinum, preparing to move from the Alternative Investment Market to the full board of the London Stock Exchange before mid-year, has expressed confidence in the health of world platinum markets this week.

CONVENTION delegates generate substantial revenue for tourism and related businesses in WA, according to the results of convention delegate expenditure research for the Perth Convention Bureau.