Stories of job creation, job losses, investment and businesses doing good make our annual round-up of the year’s most important stories
AI growth zone
The North East was one of the big winners of Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK in September as plans for a £30bn AI growth zone were announced.
The plans will see British firm Nscale working with American technology giants OpenAI and Nvidia to establish Stargate UK. The deal will see AI infrastructure ramped up at Cobalt Park, North Tyneside, adding to the already-announced plans for a major data centre campus at Cambois, near Blyth.
North East mayor Kim McGuinness said the growth zone “places the North East at the forefront of the next technology revolution” and would lead to “thousands of better jobs and new opportunities for local people”.
Sara Davies returns to Crafter’s Companion
Dragons’ Den star and North East entrepreneur Sara Davies returned to Crafter’s Companion, the firm she founded as a student, after it went into administration at the start of the year.
Her return helped save most of the jobs at the County Durham company, despite challenging times in the crafting sector. Taking the helm of the company saw Ms Davies step back on some of her TV work.
In August, investment group Maven Capital Partners took control of the firm and Ms Davies handed the managing director job to former CBI regional director Diane Sharp, though she increased her shareholding at the time.
Ups and downs at Nissan
It has been a year of triumphs and challenges for Nissan in what is a challenging global automotive market.
At a global level, Nissan is battling major headwinds and in May it announced that it would close a number of its plants and cut tens of thousands of jobs.
But the Sunderland plan last week started production of the third-generation Leaf electric vehicle, while its joint venture Jatco announced in January that it would be creating 180 new jobs with a new plant on Wearside making electric powertrains.
Closure of long-established firms
There was sad news – and a significant number of job losses – as long-standing North East firms Zytronic and Union Electric Steel announced their closure.
Blaydon’s Zytronic announced plans in February to wind down the company following a period of uncertainty. The firm, which dates back to the 1940s, was dealt a serious blow by the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of a key US-based customer, which hampered recovery in the wake of Covid.
Union Electric Steel is even longer established, having been producing steel products at Gateshead, previously as Davy Roll, for 180 years. The firm’s American owners brought forward closure plans and put the company into administration in October, with the loss of around 170 jobs.
Freight Island plans
Plans were announced in February for a £16m entertainment venue called Freight Island.
The rooftop bar will create hundreds of jobs and, at 60,000 sq ft, it is set to become the largest food, drink and entertainment venue in a UK city centre.
It had been hoped that the development would open in the autumn, but that has now been pushed back to the first half of next year.
Crown Works
There was a reality check for the region when the ambitious plans for the Crown Works studios in Sunderland lost their main financial backers.
It had been hoped that the project would bring thousands of jobs to the region, along with major film and TV productions. But the decision of financiers Cain International to withdraw was a significant blow.
Efforts are being made to attract new investors and there are hopes too that a smaller version of the scheme could kickstart the project using public funding.
Contracts boost Hitachi rail factory
Last year the story at Hitachi’s Newton Aycliffe factory was one of fighting for survival as many of the contracts it was working on.
But orders for new trains, first from Lumo and its parent group First Group, and then from Arriva-owned Grand Central, put the factory in a much healthier state.
Hitachi has been working with fellow North East firm Turntide Transport on battery-powered trains that offer cleaner travel.
Law firm closed down
Newcastle firm Samuel Phillips Law could trace its history back to 1919 but it was closed suddenly earlier this month.
The Solicitors Regulatory Authority stepped in to close the company along with Gateshead firm Hathaways and Miah Solicitors in Leeds, whose owner Sufe Miah bought Samuel Phillips three years ago.
The SRA said: “There is reason to suspect dishonesty on the part of Mr Sufe Miah, as a manager of Samuel Phillips, in connection with the business of The Miah Solicitors Limited and Hathaways in which he is also a manager.”
Merit goes into administration
Former North East Company of the Year Merit had a swift fall from grace when it faced a number of winding up petitions and then went into administration with the loss of 300 jobs.
The Cramlington modular building firm had built up a strong reputation in recent years and was involved in some high profile projects, such as the building of a new hospital in Berwick, which had to find new contractors.
Administrators came in after Merit experienced contractual issues and delays to a number of its major contracts, which in turn had a significant impact on cashflow.
North East firms are the most generous
A report from the Charities Aid Foundation found that businesses in the North East are most likely to donate to charity.
The Foundation, which helps people and organisations give more effectively to charitable causes, said that only 25% of UK firms donated to charities in the form of time, cash or goods last year.
But North East firms showed more generosity, with 41% donating to voluntary groups. The Foundation’s report highlighted North East firms Greggs, Northumbrian Water, Newcastle Building Society, Port of Tyne and Ringtons for their charitable giving.
