Crisis, what crisis? West Midlands keeps calm and carries on

LABOUR Prime Minister Harold Wilson is famously quoted as saying that a week is a long time in politics and there can rarely – if ever – have been better proof of this than the momentous events that have taken place in the UK over the past seven days.

While yet to work themselves out fully, the events of the past week will shape our lives for decades to come.

The week has also seen the beginning and end of various political careers – and more will probably follow before this month is out.

Against this ever-changing dynamic, you might expect the consequences of Brexit to have impacted on virtually every story featured on TheBusinessDesk.com – and while it’s true that we could have presented a full email of EU stories every day – the best read stories this week have owed little to the events unfolding around us.

Most are concentrated on activity within the commercial property sector, with various deals being completed – although the continuing turmoil being experienced in the retail sector also vied for attention.

The week began with the report into the consequences of the collapse of British Home Stores and the number of firms across the region impacted by its administration.

In a similar vein, the CVA agreed to by Shirley-based Store Twenty One and the administration of My Local with the loss of 1,200 jobs also underlined the perils of businesses operating in that sector.

One other retail story of note was the bizarre revelation that stores in the Bullring are to cover up mirrors in their changing rooms in a trial project to see if this improves the self-confidence of shoppers.

Back in the commercial property sector, the week also saw the recording-breaking sale of a prime residential site in Solihull, while Black Country property firm LCP was undeterred by the retail crisis and invested more than £23m buying a portfolio of 100 properties.

The disposal of a car park in Birmingham city centre is set to kickstart a stalled £100m development, while the popularity of the city’s office market was highlighted with the deal that sees full occupany of Bruntwood’s Centre City building.

Other highlights included a major private equity deal backed by US funds, which saw the exit from tableware manufacturer Steelite of long-serving boss Kevin Oakes.