Mark Beyer

Automotive Holdings Group had employed a consistent approach to buying and integrating dealerships over many years, long-serving director and head of business development Hamish Williams told Business News after his recent retirement.

Upwards of 130 corporate finance transactions worth more than $11 billion were announced in WA in the June quarter, but most notable was a handful of landmark M&A deals.

France’s Technip and South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries have been signed up as the lead engineering and construction contractors for the Browse floating LNG project, continuing similar work they have undertaken for the Prelude FLNG project.

Coogee Chemicals has started the new financial year with a freshly installed executive chairman in Tim Martin, and a new managing director in Grant Lukey.

The Pilbara Ports Authority lifted throughput to a record 619.8 million tonnes in 2014-15, primarily on the back of a 21 per cent jump in iron ore shipments through Port Hedland offsetting a small decline at Dampier.

Roy Mellon has built his business on the premise that running payroll is one of the least favourite functions inside most businesses.

Integro Private Financial Consulting is a financial planning firm founded on the core principle of complete independence.

Woodside Petroleum has stuck with its planned timetable for the Browse gas project, announcing today it has reached agreement with its joint venture partners to commence front-end engineering and design ahead of a final investment decision by the end of 2016.

Brookfield Asset Management is seeking to add ports and rail operator Asciano to its expansive Australian interests, which already include Brookfield Rail, construction giant Brookfield Multiplex, half of oil and gas producer Quadrant Energy, and multiple city office towers.

For the past nine years, City of Swan Mayor Charlie Zannino has made an annual trip to Canberra, usually with his deputy and a couple of staff in tow.

Amidst the publicity surrounding the rescue of renowned sailor Jon Sanders in rough seas over the weekend, the role of private Western Australian company Bhagwan Marine was lost on most people.

IT services company Empired is something of a rarity in Western Australian business, as it has been busy recruiting staff to support its expansion.

DLA Piper has entrenched its positon as one of Western Australia’s top 10 law firms after confirming today it would absorb boutique corporate practice Hardy Bowen, with one notable exception.

Training standards in WA have been criticised by the auditor-general and big employers.

Two of Perth’s prominent business families have shed light on their future plans, after the Bennett family struck a deal to buy a marina operation in Fremantle from the Kailis family.

The wave of backdoor listings on the ASX has delivered nearly $90 million of extra capital to the tech sector in Western Australia, but the trend hasn’t all been positive, research by Business News has found.

Wesfarmers has acquired a 13.7 per cent shareholding in Quadrant Energy, less than three weeks after the oil and gas producer was established as an independent company.

The independent directors of Energy Resources of Australia have quit after a disagreement with major shareholder Rio Tinto over the future of its Ranger uranium mine in the Northern Territory.

Narembeen is typical of many small Wheatbelt towns confronting challenges with an array of business and community development initiatives.

The Wheatbelt region faces significant growth challenges, but it’s home to a surprising mix of old and new businesses. Click through to see more on our business in the Wheatbelt feature.

The Wirlu-murra Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation has continued to benefit from being one of Fortescue Metals Group’s preferred indigenous partners, having joined with Thiess to win an $85 million contract in the Pilbara.

Having built acQuire Technology Solutions into an international success, Bill Withers is starting a venture to help others learn from the experiences of his employee-owned business.

With the takeovers of iiNet and Amcom Telecommunications heading into the final stretch, the investment bankers and other advisers that worked on these deals will be looking forward to a very handy pay day of more than $40 million.

The government has announced the introduction of a simplified international student visa framework, which involves reducing the number of visa sub-classes from eight to two, to boost Australia's international education sector.

THE launch this month of independent oil and gas producer Quadrant Energy has underlined the big role private equity investors play in Western Australia, owning more than a dozen major businesses a

One of WA’s largest Aboriginal corporations has been sharply divided as it seeks to deal with the impact of plunging iron ore revenue.

Five national businesses have been awarded contracts to continue the roll-out of the National Broadband Network, with project company nbn saying the new performance-based contracts are a marked departure from past practice.

Macquarie Capital’s Kate Vidgen has been named as the inaugural chair of newly formed oil and gas company Quadrant Energy, which will have six directors representing its three owners – Macquarie, Brookfield Asset Management and Angela Bennett’s AMB Holdings.

There has been a significant re-ranking of insolvency firms in WA, with some relatively new brands winning market share from the big players.

With apprenticeship completion rates below 30 per cent in some industries, the business sector is continuing to push for reforms to vocational education and training.

A looming shortage of skilled technicians in the oil and gas industry is the latest opportunity local business Blue Tongue is planning to tackle.

Everyone wants the vocational education and training system to be simpler and more responsive to the market’s needs; can Liza Harvey and Jim Walker deliver? Click through to see more on our Apprentices and Training feature.