Yorkshire’s business year: January to June
THE year started with business wondering whether the drop in GDP at the end of 2011 would prove to be just a bump on the road to recovery or evidence of a double-dip recession.
In what would prove to be a difficult year for retail, January saw a better-than-expected conclusion to the collapse of Barratts Priceless into administration the previous month as founder Michael Ziff agreed a deal for 89 stores saving thousands of jobs.
The change of year meant a change of fortunes for another Yorkshire business as the founders of digital agency Fuse8 agreed a deal to buy the firm.
Change was also on the agenda of Allied London as it bought the struggling Clarence Dock development in Leeds. Later in the year it would unveil radical plans to revitalise the scheme under the new name New Dock.
In February, employment services firm A4e found itself the focus of national attention after four employees were arrested on suspicion of fraud. The arrests raised questions about the company’s Government contracts with the controversy eventually leading to the resignation of Emma Harrison.
A piece of Yorkshire cultural and business history was saved when fish and chip chain The Wetherby Whaler stepped in to buy the Guiseley Harry Ramsden shop which had been earmarked for closure.
At the other end of the deals scale, Sheffield business Simcyp was sold to US drug development software company Certara in a deal valuing the firm at around £20m – the first major exit for shareholder Fusion IP which earned around £4m for its stake.
March brought Chancellor George Osborne’s third budget and with it promises of millions for major rail improvements and digital infrastructure in Yorkshire although this would be quickly overshadowed as details of taxes on caravans and pasties emerged.
The Government was not alone in spending millions in Yorkshire in March with Korean industrial giant Samsung investing heavily in the Don Valley Power Project.
The departure of Gary Williamson as chief executive of the Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce surprised many in the region’s business community with Len Cruddas stepping in to fill the gap.
And there was disappointment as Yorkshire’s promising bid to host the Governnment’s new Green Investment Bank was rejected.
April signalled the end for a fixture in the Yorkshire business calendar as Mike Firth confirmed 2012 would be the last time the Yorkshire International Business Convention would be held in its existing format.
The month also brought the news many had long suspected as another quarter of contraction in the UK economy confirmed the return of recession.
But there was optimism in York that new powers on offer to councils could help revitalise the York Central development while the commercial property market also saw the acquisition of the Velocity Village scheme by Moorfield Group.
One of the region’s major law firms, Pinsent Masons, announced the appointment of Chris Booth as its new head of office.
The changes at the top of the region’s professional services community continued into May with the appointment of Chris Hearld as the new Leeds office senior partner at KPMG.
The sale of Bathstore to an Endless-backed venture for £15m was the eye-catching deal of the month with the £30m acquisition of the Princes Exchange building not far behind.
Monarch Airlines confirmed its intention to start scheduled services from Leeds Bradford, the first in a string of upbeat announcements for the airport in 2012.
As the year approached the halfway point, Yorkshire had its first stockmarket floatation in two years as WANdisco was listed on the London Stock Exchange in an IPO valuing the business at £37m.
The stock market also saw the sale of Harworth Power by parent UK Coal in a £20m deal.
Efforts by the region’s local enterprise partnerships to encourage business investment began to bear fruit with news of the first company to take space on the Aire Valley Enterprise Zone.
And June ended with success for the longrunning campaign by business to restore the link between Leeds Bradford Airport and Heathrow.
Our review of 2012 concludes tomorrow. Tell us what you think the major business stories of 2012 were in the comments below.
