The shipyard said it would focus on "an expansion of its technical consultancy services, which encompass the marine, offshore and structural engineering sectors".

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The minister said this total included costs on legal, commercial, financial and technical consultancy and other professional fees, which were incurred from when the scheme was first launched in 2005 until 2009.

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One reason could simply be the fickle nature of the social networking market, suggests Simon Haighton-Williams, technical director of web consultancy WTG in London.

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