A Van Nuys hotel, a longtime aviation charter and aircraft management firm, and the designers and manufacturers of elaborate water features are the three finalists for the Economic Engine Award from the Valley Economic Alliance.

Each quarter the alliance recognizes a business that has made a notable contribution to the Valley’s economy, and shown a commitment to hiring in the Valley and working with other local companies.

The three finalists for the award to be presented Feb. 24 are the Airtel Plaza Hotel in Van Nuys; Clay Lacy Aviation in Van Nuys; and WET Design in Sun Valley.

The finalists were chosen from a total of 26 nominees.

A panel of judges reviews all nominations and a silent vote determines who will be the recipient of the award.

Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills was a previous winner of the award for its expansion project that created construction and heath care jobs.

Simon Property Group has made a $10 billion offer for General Growth Properties, owner of three San Fernando Valley area shopping malls.

General Growth shareholders would receive $9 per share in the proposed deal.

The Chicago-based firm that owns the Glendale Galleria, Burbank Town Centre and Northridge Fashion Center filed for bankruptcy in April 2009.

The offer from Simon would bring to a close General Growth’s protracted reorganization process, said Simon Group Chairman and CEO David Simon.

“We are confident it is the best option for all General Growth constituencies and far superior to any other third-party proposal or stand-alone plan that could be completed,” Simon said.

In a letter from Simon to General Growth CEO Adam Metz, Simon said that the firm has access to all the financial resources needed to close the deal and that no contingency or conditions will be necessary.

Online marketing service provider ValueClick Inc. fell short of having its revenues meet guidance expectations for the fourth quarter.

Still, the Westlake Village-based firm showed marked improvement in the quarter when compared to a year ago with net income of $15.5 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, on revenues of $110.4 million. For the same period in 2008, the company had a net loss of $251.8 million, or $2.90 per diluted share, on revenues of $110 million.

For the fiscal year, ValueClick had net income of $68.6 million, or $0.79 per diluted share, on revenues of $422.7 million. In the previous fiscal year, the company had a net loss of $214 million, or $2.32 per diluted share, on revenues of $455.4 million.

The company had issued a guidance of revenues for the fourth quarter between $128 million and $138 million.

Those guidance figures, however, did not take into account the sale of the Web Clients business for $45 million, which was included as a discontinued operation for 2009. ValueClick acquired Web Clients, a promotional lead generation business, in 2005

The number of Small business Administration (SBA) -backed loans made by financial institutions serving the Valley increased in the first quarter of fiscal year 2010 (the period from Oct. 1, 2009 to Dec. 31, 2009) compared to the same period a year ago.

A total of $71,741,100 in 7a and 504 loans were made in Q1 2010, compared to $46,742,100 in Q1 2009. The number of loans increased from 113 to 148. And the average of the gross amount of loans increased from $413,647 to $484,737.

SBA lenders said the increase was fueled by small businesses moving forward with expansion plans and the SBA waiving fees and upping its loan guarantee percentages. But numbers are still low and stiff underwriting criteria remain a stumbling block.

“I think the biggest incentive has been that the SBA increased its loan guarantees on 7a to 90 percent and waived fees for both 7a and 504 loans,” said Roberto Barragan, president of the Valley Economic Development Center. “Some businesses can save tens of thousands of dollars with the waived fees.”

A lot of business owners shied away from pursuing financing in 2009 to see what was going to happen with the economy, said Barragan. Now, many of them are back in the game. And the secondary markets for loans are coming back.

San Fernando Valley Small Business Development Corporation made a total of seven SBA-backed loans in fiscal year 2009 worth $3.9 million. It made one loan for $452,000 in Q1 2010.

There are more people pursuing 7a loans to start new businesses, said Barragan, and the agency has millions of dollars in loans that have been pre-approved. Activity for 504 loans, which are often used for purchasing commercial real estate, is still uncertain because some buyers are waiting for property values to drop further.

“I’m getting an increasing number of loan requests from businesses thinking about expansion,” said Timothy Weaver, senior VP of Celtic bank Corporation, adding 12 months ago people were nervous and activity started picking up in the past few months.

The SBA waiving fees and upping its loan guarantee percentages are fueling demand, he said. And the Obama administration talking about spurring small business lending over the past couple months is encouraging a lot of businesses to apply.

But, some businesses have struggled financially over the past year and simply do not qualify for loans. And while bankers want to lend, they are dealing with increased pressure from regulators to not make risky loans.

“Bankers are caught in the middle,” said Weaver. “A record number of banks have been closed by regulators, and the number one reason for them being closed is that they’ve made bad loans.”

Weaver can tell through an oral interview if a business will qualify for an SBA loan. The key questions are whether the business is making money or losing money, the amount of collateral the owner is putting up, and whether the borrower has good personal credit.

Still off mark

SBA lending is going in the right direction, said Alberto G. Alvarado, director of the Los Angeles District Office of the SBA, but numbers are still off the mark from a couple years ago.

The total number of SBA-backed loans in L.A., Ventura and Santa Barbara counties was 6,200 worth $1.2 billion in fiscal year 2007. In fiscal year 2009, there were only 1,747 loans worth $674.4 million, he said.

Alvarado attributes the uptick in Q1 2010 to the 2009 Recovery Act, because it allowed the SBA to waive fees and increase guarantee percentages. The SBA’s provisions are set to expire in February, but there’s a bill before Congress to extend and expand the program.

“These programs have proven to be very popular,” said Alvarado.

Antonio Zate of Wells Fargo Small Business Lending is seeing an increase in activity from start-up companies and those looking to expand. He echoes other lender’s statements that the Recovery Act has had a huge impact on lending activity.

“The leading source of small business loans in the marketplace right now is SBA,” said Zate. Wells Fargo also continues to provide conventional business loans and has divisions that work with companies in the $2 million and up categories.

Zate is also seeing a number of customers who are not in a position to borrow right now. In those cases Wells Fargo tries to direct them to other sources of financing and programs that will prepare them to be presentable for an SBA loan in the future.

SBA Loan Programs

7(a) Loan Program: This is SBA’s primary and most flexible loan program, with financing guaranteed for a variety of general business purposes. It is designed for start-up and existing small businesses, and is delivered through commercial lending institutions.

The major types of 7(a) loans are: Express Programs; Export Loan Programs; Rural Lender Advantage Program; and the Special Purpose Loans Program.

CDC/504 Loan Program: This program provides long-term, fixed-rate financing to acquire fixed assets (such as real estate or equipment) for expansion or modernization. It is designed for small businesses requiring “brick and mortar” financing, and is delivered by CDCs (Certified Development Companies) — private, non-profit corporations set up to contribute to the economic development of their communities.

Microloan Program: Provides small (up to $35,000) short-term loans for working capital or the purchase of inventory, supplies, furniture, fixtures, machinery and/or equipment. It is designed for small businesses and not-for-profit child-care centers needing small-scale financing and technical assistance for start-up or expansion, and is delivered through specially designated intermediary lenders (nonprofit organizations with experience in lending and technical assistance).

Disaster Assistance Loan Program: Provides low-interest loans to homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes and most private non-profit organizations to repair or replace real estate, personal property, machinery and equipment, inventory and business assets that have been damaged or destroyed in a declared disaster.

The College of the Canyons has turned to a veteran financial industry professional as the new director of the Small business Development Center.

Steve Tannehill started in the position on March 12, the day after the college board approved hiring him.

Tannehill is a long time Santa Clarita Valley resident. He served as chief operating officer at Countrywide Servicing Exchanging, a subsidiary of Countrywide Financial based in Pasadena that was a broker for buyers and sellers of servicing rights.

Tannehill is also an instructor at California State University, Northridge in finance, real estate and insurance. He also taught at Pierce College in Woodland Hills.

The Small Business Development Center provides mentoring, counseling and other services for small business owners and entrepreneurs in the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys.

Tannehill replaces Paul De La Cerda, the center’s first director, who left in November. Charlie Gill, a commercial real estate broker, has been interim director until a permanent one was named.

Even as executives from video game publisher THQ Inc. credited cost cutting for helping the company achieve positive financial results in the third quarter, more staffing reductions took place.

The Agoura Hills-based company is refocusing two design studios to digital games with the result that 60 employees will be let go.

THQ has streamlined its operations in the past two years as the result of poor financial showings and a drop in game sales, a strategy that has begun to pay off.

For the third quarter ending Dec. 31, THQ reported net income of $542 million, or $0.01 per diluted share, on revenues of $356.7 million. That is a marked improvement over the same period in 2008 when the company reported a net loss of $191.8 million, or $2.86 per diluted share, on revenues of $357.3 million.

The quarter also proved positive for THQ in terms of new licensing agreements with DreamWorks Animation SKG to develop games based on their animated feature films, and Sony Pictures Consumer Products to develop games based on the popular “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy” game shows.

The changes at design studios Phoenix and the United Kingdom reflect users wanting games available on portable devices.

“We plan to address these needs through a rich offering of content distributed across digital platforms, based both on all of our major core brands as well as new intellectual properties,” said Danny Bilson, executive vice president, THQ Core Games.