Friday High Five – what’s been in the news this week

Our top stories across theBusinessDesk.com this week all left fascinating clues about different things that are affecting the regional economy.

The disposal of the engineering division of Carr’s – so they can focus on agriculture and agritech – says something about their strategy, but also the buyer being a major American corporation with £75m to spend gives a few clues about who the bullish buyers are going to be in the M&A market this year.

AutoTrader’s intention to move across town to Bruntwood SciTech’s Circle Square shows the importance of clustering in the property market – their COO Alison Ross sees the business embedded in the burgeoning digital community along the Oxford Road Corridor.

The positive trading statement from Individual Restaurants group – owners of the expansive Piccolino brand – was one of several that showed consumers enjoyed their Christmas more than some gloomy economic forecasters expected. It was the same with upmarket supermarket Booths, Liverpool One shopping centre did well, and even amidst its disappointing profit warning JD Sports said UK sales have held up well and they’ve resisting turning their shops into jumble sales.

The collapse of credit hire business EDAM was hugely disappointing and it’s clear the board and their funders tried everything, but trends were just against them. Fewer road traffic accidents and a tighter insurance market were just some of the factors that contributed to their demise.

Finally, everyone loves an entrepreneur on a mission. Zuber Issa clearly still has the appetite to build his own forecourts business, EG On the Move, after the separation of assets from his brother. The deal with Applegreen has trebled the business in size.

It also has an emphasis on electric vehicle charging, with the brand EV On The Move replacing EG Group’s EV Point. It’s the future.

Have a great weekend.

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