Bredbury Hall leads our best read stories review
ONCE again the nature of the best read stories of the year proves the old adage that bad news sells.
Our top 10 list is dominated by business failure but there was also room for unusual events such as a fighter jet being scrambled to accompany an airliner, and extreme weather.
On a stormy night in February the wind was so strong the windows at TheBusinessDesk.com towers were bending inwards. We sent a breaking news alert about the closure of the Thelwall Viaduct then worried we’d contributed to traffic gridlock as commuters fled.
The top story was the failure of the Bredbury Hall hotel, which is still trading. We followed up with an in-depth investigation into the events leading up to the insolvency and discovered it was connected to a major debt sale at Lloyds Bank.
Strikingly, only one story in the top 10 concerned a deal, often considered the bread and butter of business journalism. And none of our stories covering the public markets made the best read list.
The Top 10
Bredbury Hall falls into administration (March)
BREDBURY Hall, the 150-bedroom hotel, wedding venue and conference centre near Stockport, filed for administration.
We followed up with this story about the debt sale that triggered the insolvency.
Law firm Linder Myers seeks buyer as administration looms (February)
NORTH West law firm Linder Myers filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators, joining a list of regional casualties in the sector. It was later saved through an innovative solvent restructuring deal with Assure Law.
Spinningfields blocks on the market after owner fails (April)
ADMINISTRATORS were appointed to companies that own two flagship Manchester office buildings in Spinningfields.
Manchester flights suspended after fighter jet scrambled (August)
AN RAF jet was scrambled to accompany a Qatar Airways jet on its approach to Manchester after the pilot received information about a possible device on board, which later turned out to be unfounded.
Traffic warning as M6 closed by high winds (February)
HIGH winds forced the closure of the Thelwall Viaduct on the M6, and transport authorities warned of severe traffic congestion.
Director ban for accountant Andrew Campbell (June)
ACCOUNTANT Andrew Campbell was handed a three-year director ban for running up tax debts at his old firm Campbell Woolley.
100 jobs go as Oldham engineering group fails (January)
NEARLY 100 staff were made redundant at Oldham civil engineering business DCT Group after costs associated with a legal dispute pushed it into insolvency.
150 jobs lost as Lancs care business goes under (April)
MORE than 150 jobs were lost at a Lancashire care provider P&A Partnership, which closed amid tough competition and increasing regulation.
E-cigarette firm acquired in £30m deal (April)
MANCHESTER electronic cigarettes firm VIP was bought in a £30m cash and shares deal.
Man United income hits record £433m (September)
MANCHESTER United’s revenues rose 19% to £433.2m in the year to June, but are expected to fall back to between £385m and £395m in 2015 as result of missing out on Champions League football income this season.
