Drastic action is expected

Whoever wins the forthcoming General Election will be forced to take drastic action to reduce the national debt and pay for the bankers’ follies. The Chancellor has already announced a hike in employers’ National Insurance contributions – and there’s bound to be more as ministers desperately try to bolster the Treasury’s coffers.

But, as we ring out the old year still officially in recession, there is at least hope that the infamous green shoots of recovery will sprout in 2010 and uphold the cautious mood of optimism revealed among local firms by a recent Bradford Chamber of Commerce survey.

Here’s a snapshot of Bradford’s business year in 2009.

January

Businesses were urged to face up to the year ahead with a zeal to achieve their objectives by Balbir Panesar, Bradford Chamber of Commerce president.

He said: “It seems that there will be plenty of extra challenges in 2009 on top of those we already face. But that’s not to say that it’s doom and gloom everywhere.”

Boffins at Bradford University unveiled research which could have a global impact on fighting ‘cyber crime’ and ensuring better protection of personal information held on company and Government computer systems.

The university’s School of Infomatics, with backing from Skipton-based IT security company Syphan Technologies, was looking to develop new techniques to detect attacks on confidential information and databases used by major organisations.

After revealing its worst trading results for a decade, Marks & Spencer confirmed its commitment to being an anchor tenant in the delayed £320 million Westfield retail development in Bradford.

M&S said its woes would also not have any impact on the company’s plans for a giant distribution centre at Rooley Lane, Bradford.

February

A £50,000 cash injection at Bradford engineering firm Norpak was earmarked to open up European markets.

The firm, in Eccleshill, said it would use the loan from Partnership Investment Finance, a commercial fund, on a marketing campaign to help grow its mailroom equipment business on the Continent.

Managing director John Hewitt said: “We are using the loan from PIF as a springboard to expand.”

March

Businesses in Skipton agreed to pay an extra levy on their rates to help fund a £600,000 contribution towards improving to the town.

They endorsed a five-year plan which will mean Skipton being the first market town in Yorkshire to become a Business Improvement District.

A pioneering four year degree course to be launched by Bradford University School of Management in 2010 was unveiled which would mean Bradford becoming a national centre of excellence in financial services.

April

Bradford was urged to move ahead with regeneration schemes to boost future prosperity in an upturn. The regional head of the new Homes and Communities Agency told Bradford Property Forum that £200 million invested by the Council and other agencies in regeneration schemes in Sheffield brought a further £1 billion of investment in that city.

David Curtis, a former Sheffield housing chief, acknowledged that the recession had made the prospect of schemes going ahead tougher, but urged the Council and other bodies to push forward as much a possible.

Fifty new jobs were created in Bradford at the new £4 million Aagrah Midpoint Suite at Thornbury, Bradford.

May

A change in shopping habits by consumers leaving the car at home and using local stores helped boost profits by 11 per cent at the Co-operative Group, headed by Bradford-born chief executive Peter Marks. As a result, the Co-op’s three million members were set to share a £50 million dividend.

Around 25 jobs were created in Bradford by the UK’s largest car part supplier which moved into a base in the city. Euro Car Parts became the first tenant at the Wellington Business Park on Sticker Lane, Laisterdyke, developed by Bradford-based Martree.

Bradford’s Council boss Tony Reeves said the stalled £320 million retail park on Broadway would be the UK priority for its Australian-based developer Westfield, once economic conditions improved.

June

A new £12 million warehouse and distribution centre which put Bradford at the forefront of the European greetings card industry, opened.

David Hall, grandson of the founder of Hallmark Cards, flew in to cut the ribbon at the group’s largest single investment in the business on this side of the Atlantic.

The distribution centre uses computerised technology to pick, sort and pack up to 30,000 boxes of cards an hour for shops and major chains.

July

An historic textile firm, still in family ownership after 225 years, delved into the past for inspiration for its latest product. Pudsey-based Hainsworths collaborated with the UK’s largest coffin maker to produce a range of coffins made from wool, cotton and cardboard.

The new German owners of a Bradford chemical site were accused of ripping the heart out of the plant after announcing 150 job cuts.

Andy Irvine, GMB union convenor at the former Ciba speciality chemicals site at Low Moor, said workers were particularly shocked at the decision by new owner BASF to close the research centre and focus such work in Germany.

Home credit company Provident Financial said its new Bradford head office would be a base for significant expansion in the specialist lending market.

August

The Bradford-based British Wool Marketing Board said it was buying the former Empire Direct warehouse in Canal Road to convert the 114,000 sq ft building into its new area distribution depot to replace its existing site in City Road.

John Tordoff, chief executive of the JCT 600 car dealership chain, warned that some leading motor manufacturers could pull out of the Government-backed car scrappage scheme, which guarantees a trade-in price of £2,000 for ‘bangers’ against a new vehicle. He said the feeling in the industry was that the scheme had done little to boost car sales.

September

A West Yorkshire corporate headquarters was set to become a posh wedding venue after obtaining a civil marriage licence and teaming up with one of the region’s most famous restaurants.

Denton Hall, a Grade II Georgian country house, which is the base of the N G Bailey building services group, opened its doors for weddings. The hall teamed up with the Box Tree restaurant in Ilkley to provide an exclusive setting and Michelin-starred catering for weddings.

Skipton brewery Copper Dragon celebrated a record year with a 50 per cent increase in annual turnover to £4 million. The brewery, which was established in Skipton seven years ago, had also increased its workforce to 45.

Saltaire-based set-top box maker Pace was looking to broaden its international customer base through new developments announced at an industry trade show.

October

The Greek owners of a Bradford wheelie bin factory axed 13 jobs and temporarily transferred production to Greece due to the recession. causing slower than expected growth in demand.

Waste management services group Helesi plc said for the time being production of domestic wheelie bins for the UK and Ireland would be made using capacity in Greece.

The end of a famous Bradford retail name was announced as part of the UK’s biggest-ever corporate rebranding exercise. All 19 showrooms of Bradford-based Sunwin Motors Ltd would become known as The Co-operative Motor Group as part of the Co-op’s £1.5 billion re-branding. The Bradford dealership on Sunbridge Road was expected to change early in 2010.

The name, thought to be an amalgam of Sunbridge Road and Godwin Street, where the Co-op ran a department store, was familiar to shoppers and car buyers in Bradford for decades.

November

The owner of one of the best-known retail names in Bradford said it was struggling to survive in a climate that had hit its traditional business. Daley’s, which has sold books and art materials to thousands of Bradford University and Bradford College students, including David Hockney, was winding down its art supplies department.

Owner Liz Pennington, who started working there at 18 and bought the business 15 years ago, said she was no longer able to make the art business pay against competition from online and budget retailers.

She had diversified, closing the book shop. They now focus on online sales, including supplying schools.

A £15 million funding package would support long-term growth plans at Zenith Provecta, of Calverley, the UK’s leading independent leasing, fleet management and vehicle outsourcing business.

Award-winning Bradford pub twins Chris and Nick Green said they were on track to achieve their ambition of owning the freehold of their three hostelries.

The pair lease their pubs – the Stansfield Arms at Apperley Bridge, The Chevin at Menston and the Black Horse at Askwith, near Ilkley – from Enterprise Inns.

But they were negotiating with the owners to buy all three locations which form their Greencliffe Taverns business.

December

Bradford will be the base for a ‘second force’ in the building society sector if savers and borrowers approve a merger between the Yorkshire and Chelsea societies.

The proposed deal, which does not involve any pay-outs to members nor bonuses for bosses, was being recommended by the societies’ boards.

Chelsea members will vote at a special meeting on January 22, with YBS members voting on January 26. If approved, the merger will take affect from April. Iain Cornish, YBS chief executive, will head the new business. He hailed the merger as good for YBS and good for Bradford.

Tony Hallwood, commercial director at Leeds-Bradford Inter-national Airport, met Air France-KLM to discuss opening new routes over 18 months.