Review of the Year: How Bradford did business in 2014

JANUARY

Specialist recruitment and training group Driver Hire achieved the four best weeks of trading in the Bradford-based company’s 30 year history across its 100-strong national office network. The record-breaking performance was boosted by demand from major national businesses for agency delivery drivers to help them beat deadlines in the run-up to Christmas 2013.

Airport chiefs announced the number of passengers using Leeds Bradford International Airport during 2013 rose by 11 per cent to a record-breaking 3.3 million. The Yeadon hub remained the UK’s fastest growing top 20 airport. and the previous 12 months saw it expand to serve more than 70 domestic and international destinations as well as introduce new services from airlines such as British Airways, Monarch and Thomson Airways.

Exhibiting in the United States paid off for a small West Yorkshire foundry equipment manufacturer which landed significant orders for its specialist products. Engineering (above), a Keighley-based family-run business which exports around 70 per cent of its output, clinched orders for 14 small and medium foundry ladles after taking part in the Castexpo exhibition in St Louis where its stand featured a working ladle and other full size foundry products.

Bradford-based law firm Last Cawthra Feather became LCF Law as it moved into a new city base to gear up for future growth. It was the biggest shake-up of the company’s corporate image for more than 30 years and aimed to create a less stuffy image and make its legal services more accessible.

Booming new car sales led a family-owned Bradford-based motors group to launch a recruitment drive for its dealerships across the North. JCT600, one of the UK’s largest privately-owned motor traders with 47 outlets, held careers evenings across Yorkshire in a bid to fill about 70 vacancies across a range of roles.

FEBRUARY

Loss-making travel giant Thomas Cook revealed plans to pull ‘back office’ operations out of Bradford through the phased closure of its remaining administrative centre at Birkenshaw, with the loss of nearly 150 jobs. It followed the axing of its city centre call centre in Aldermanbury when 500 jobs were lost. Thomas Cook said it would transfer work to its Peterborough base with the Birkenshaw office due to close by the end of January, 2015.

Joinery firm Abrahams & Carlisle said it would take on more people after another strong start to its trading year. The Dudley Hill-based family business clinched orders worth more than £2.5 million for fit-out and joinery projects along with a healthy rise in tendering opportunities for a wide range of jobs in sectors other than its traditional client base of pubs, restaurants, hotels and health clubs.

Further growth plans were also announced at Bradford-based laundry chemicals manufacturer Christeyns UK after it doubled in size and moved into new markets through mergers and acquisitions. The company said it was committed to keeping its two Bradford manufacturing sites and improving operations as part of growth plans. Acquisiitons increased turnover from £22 million to £46 million and doubled the number of employees from 110 to 220.

The family-run Czajka Care Group announced it would create more than 100 new jobs through expanding its community care division providing home care and domiciliary care to people in their own homes across Bradford, Leeds and Kirklees. Konrad Czajka, founder and group managing director, aid the new jobs were a direct result of the increase in the number of people using its services.

Bosses at a fire-ravaged engineering company progressed plans to return the business to its Rawdon base with a new factory to meet modern needs. Clive Parkman, managing director of Airedale International Air Conditioning, said the company, which employs 330 people locally, said it was planning to develop the Leeds Road site after a serious blaze the previous September forced it into temporary premises in Leeds.

Bradford Chamber of Commerce merged with its counterparts in Leeds and York following a historic vote by members The Chamber, founded in 1851, became part of the West and North Yorkshire chamber, the UK’s fifth largest, to create a body with more lobbying clout.

MARCH

Greetings card giant Hallmark UK signed an exclusive deal with Shipley printing firm Herbert Walker to produce 20 per cent of its cards and become its new UK manufacturing base. The move followed US-owned Hallmark’s decision to outsource card manufacturing from its Dawson Lane, Dudley Hill, site - mainly to the Far East - by the end of 2014 with the potential loss of 300 jobs. Hallmark UK boss Steve Wright said the deal to transfer come of its production to Herbert Walker printers showed its commitment to Bradford, where it has operated for 30 years.

The man responsible for bringing the Tour de France grand depart to the area said the world’s largest annual sporting event would have major economic benefits and help cities such as Bradford regain their confidence. Gary Verity, Welcome to Yorkshire chief executive, who began his career in Bradford, said staging the 2002 Commonwealth Games had transformed Manchester’s reputation and he wanted the same impact here.

Morrisons boss Dalton Philips defended his record as the Bradford-based retailer slumped to an annual loss of £176 million with falling sales. Mr Philips said Morrisons would focus on its core fresh food businesses while taking on discounters Aldi and Lidl through a three-year £1 billion price cutting drive that would dent future profits. He claimed discounters had caused the biggest upheaval in the grocery market since the 1950s.

More expansion targets were outlined by Silsden-based Ecology Building Society after record results in 2013. Chief executive Paul Ellis said the aim was to take the mutual to the ‘next step’ by boosting assets to £300 million in the next few years.

APRIL

Safestyle UK, which became the UK’s only stock market quoted double-glazing business through a £70 million float in 2012, said it would create around 30 jobs at a new Wakefield Road depot and 12 installation teams covering the North and Midlands. The Bradford-based company increased revenues by 13 per cent to nearly £125 million in the year to December 31 with gross profits 18 per cent higher at £45.2 million and pre-tax profits steady at £9.5 million after fees associated with the flotation and a historic tax settlement.

The new owners of Bradford’s Hilton Hotel pledged significant investment to upgrade it into a luxury four-star venue. The city centre hotel was bought by London investment group Mastcraft for an undisclosed sum, believed to be about £2 million. The venue was renamed the Bradford Hotel.

Saltaire-based All Terrain Cycles (above) invested £1 million opening a second outlet in Wetherby - which would be the largest of its type in the North of England and was the firm’s biggest expansion in more than a century. It revealed plans for a new 9,000sq ft unit near Wetherby that would open in the run-up to the Tour de France. Established in 1907, the £3 million turnover business has a store at Salts Mill, Saltaire, and a thriving online business operating from a 12,000 sq ft warehouse there.

A Bradford specialist manufacturer played a key role in the staging of a prime-time television period drama. Tents of various shapes and sizes were produced in the city for the BBC’s First World War drama The Crimson Field, set in a military field hospital in northern France in 1915. The series producers turned to BCT Outdoors, based off Wakefield Road, to make the authentic-style period tents in which much of the action took place in the drama starring Oona Chaplin, grand-daughter of Charlie Chaplin.

MAY

Growing demand for home loans led Skipton Building Society to expand its telephone mortgage service and create more than 70 jobs. The mutual said it would invest an extra £1 million a year expanding its Skipton Direct operation, based in the town, by more than 50 per cent.

A historic Bradford health cash plan provider marked its 140th anniversary year with a big boost in customer numbers and significant increases in sur-plus, turnover and reserves. Sovereign Health Care recorded its biggest growth in customer numbers for many years, to around 70,000, and paid out the highest amount in claims since it was founded as Bradford Hospital Fund in 1873.

JUNE

Fabrics made by woollen manufacturer Hainsworth, which produced the cloth for British uniforms at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, proved a hit with top international fashion designers. The Pudsey-based family firm dating back to 1783 launched a marketing campaign positioning itself as the “fabric of a nation” to capitalise on growing interest among UK and overseas fashion designers .

Morrisons directors were lambasted by the company’s founding family at the annual shareholders’ meeting for their running of the business, which slumped to a £176 million loss in 2013. Leading the attack was former company supremo and son of the founder, Sir Ken Morrison, who stood down as chairman in 2008 after 55 years with the business. Sir Ken dismissed an upbeat presentation of a six-point recovery plan by chief executive Dalton Philips as “bull****” and likened Morrisons’ annual report to the fairy stories read to him as a child.

Motors group JCT600 bought back the site of its first dealership for a seven figure sum 42 years after selling the land. JCT600, based at Apperley Bridge, re-acquired the ‘Rawdon roundabout’ site which was bought by chairman Jack Tordoff in 1968 and which he sold four years later to raise funds to invest in the business – it now includes a Sainsbury’s convenience store.

Substantial investment was made by Bradford-based steel stockholder and processor Barrett Steel at two of its 42 subsidiaries The group increased its stake in the Barrett Steel Ireland operation to nearly £7.5 million through buying a five-acre 30,000 sq ft operating site in Northern Ireland. The Dudley-Hill-based group also created six new jobs by investing more than £1 million in technology to ensure its Barrett Offshore Tubes operation at Scunthorpe remains at the forefront of the offshore wind turbine sector.

JULY

A new Bradford centre was launched by a social enterprise training provider to enable up to 100 youngsters a year to learn about becoming motor mechanics. The motor vehicle maintenance training centre was opened by Aspire-i in Young Street, off Thornton Road, as part of its aspire2work study programme, which enables youngsters aged between 16 and 18 to gain qualifications needed to find a job or move into further education.

Young entrepreneur Beth Whitaker, of Holme Wood, opened It’s A Trap! comic book shop in Market Street, Bradford, as her first business venture. She was able to start up the business after securing a £6,000 cash boost from the Business Enterprise Fund. The shop stocks hundreds of comic books, merchandise and board games and also covers cult interest film and television programmes The former Dixons Academy student said she was confident the shop would be a success due to an untapped market of comic book fans in Bradford.

Soft drinks manufacturer Princes completed work on a £40 million redevelopment at its Tong factory. Its Weaverthorpe Road base has been transformed, with improvements including more than 340,000 sq ft of new warehouse and production facilities to increase capacity at the 25-acre location.

Work began on the Bradford site, which employs 325 people and produces more than 400 million bottles of fruit squash and carbonated soft drinks every year, in autumn 2012.

AUGUST

Campaigners for around one million Bradford & Bingley shareholders said all three Bradford MPs along with Shipley’s Philip Davies would attend a public meeting to highlight its case for compensation. Bradford & Bingley Shareholders Action Group claims the decision by the previous Labour administration to nationalise B&B’s mortgage business and sell the savings operation and branches to Santander destroyed the bank despite it having a stronger balance sheet than Northern Rock, Royal Bank of Scotland and Halifax Bank of Scotland which continue to operate.

An award-winning Bradford engineering firm which expanded its operations in the city after winning new work, was cited as an example of growing positivity, investment and job creation. Victor Manufacturing (above), based in Laisterdyke, was one of the companies questioned for the Manufacturing Advice Service Barometer. The firm, which manufactures hot and cold catering equipment, and marked 70th anniversary this year, secured new business within the care sector, with high street retailers and the Government’s free school meals programme.

Starting work on Bradford’s £260 million Broadway shopping centre at helped to ensure that Yorkshire was one of only two English regions seeing an increase in commercial property development in the 12 months to June.

According to new findings from property investment group JLL, £1.7 billion of regional commercial projects started this year – 7.3 per cent more than the previous year.

NG Bailey, the Ilkley-based building services group, returned to profit, in spite of a ten per cent fall in sales The company, which has a key operation in Bradford, posted an underlying operating profit of £2.1 million for the year to February 28. This followed losses of nearly £7 million the previous year due to major restructuring costs and the weakness of the construction sector.

SEPTEMBER

A former bank was converted into another kind of safe haven for valuables by a local entrepreneur who spotted a gap in the market. Finance executive Neelam Ahmed launched Zurich Safe Deposits in the former Habib bank building in Leeds Road, Bradford, as a result of many high street banks phasing out such services due to cost cutting.

Close ties with businesses helped a record number of students gain top honours at Bradford’s business school. Three-quarters of Bradford University School of Management students who undertook a placement year graduated with first-class honours degrees. More than 70 per cent of the 300 undergraduates in business, management and law subjects achieved a first or upper second class degree.

Further growth was predicted at a Bradford-based legal IT firm following its acquisition by an expanding FTSE 100 company. Capita plc bought Eclipse Hardware Ltd, which trades as Eclipse Legal Systems, for an undisclosed sum. Eclipse, which started as a one-man band and now employs around 150 staff, provides case-management software and services to more than 20,000 legal professionals. Founder Steve Ough said joining Capita put in place the next stage of Eclipse’s growth plans.

Former Morrisons finance director Richard Pennycook was named as permanent chief executive of the troubled Co-operative Group. as it revealed a half year pre-tax loss of £9 million.

He had been stand-in boss since Euan Sutherland walked out earlier this year claiming the food-to-funerals group was ungovernable. Mr Pennycook left Morrisons after eight years, during which time he was named as the UK’s best finance director, initially joining the Co-op as as interim finance director.

OCTOBER 

Seabrook Crisps revealed it had used government cash and advice from Bradford Council to upgrade its operations and create new jobs.The family-owned firm received a £32,700 grant from the Leeds city region Local Enterprise Partnership to add to its own £300,000 investment in new production facilities to drive innovation, improve production flexibility and boost turnover. Kevin Butterworth, marketing director, said product innovation would continue as Seabrook looked to grow and increase its market share. Seabrook, which counts leading supermarkets as major customers, planned to continue its growth momentum.

The owners of the historic Rimmington’s city centre pharmacy unveiled investment plans. Pharmacists Sajid Hussain and Qaisar Sheikh, who bought the Bridge Street shop in 2010, planned to invest £150,000 and expand operations to include gifts and perfumes.The Bradford University graduates said they had seen Rimmingtons’ fortunes revive, largely as a result of increased footfall in Bradford centre due to events staged at the nearby £24 million City Park The business was originally founded by leading forensic pharmacist Felix Rimmington in 1830.

Design students from around the UK attended a conference in Bradford designed to entice new talent into the textile industry. The Making It in Textiles conference, sponsored by the Campaign for Wool along with two City livery companies. Delegates included students nominated by tutors at 20 UK educational institutions who received careers advice combined with visits to local mills. The event was held to forge stronger links between textiles courses and the UK textile manufacturing industry.

NOVEMBER

Morrisons extended its drive against the onslaught of discount chains to all of its 500 supermarkets as there were signs the store group was arresting its sales slide. Morrisons was the first of the ‘big four’ supermarkets to issue a price match challenge to discounters Aldi and Lidl, as part of a wider plan to invest £1 billion in price cuts over three years as chief executive Dalton Philips battled a shrinking market share and plunging profits. nIt said more than a million shoppers had registered for its Match & More price match and points scheme since its launch in October.

Italian restaurant owners Gianni and Nella Massimo unveiled plans to invest £80,000 on a major refurbishment programme after buying the lease of the ground floor venue. The couple have run Mamma Mia on Upper Piccadilly, for more than 30 years turning it into one of the city’s best known eateries.

Bradford was named as one of three UK locations for centres to nurture creative and digital businesses. The Digital Catapult Centre Yorkshire is due to open in March and will provide space for start-ups and small businesses to develop and showcase their digital ideas and products. The other centres are in Brighton and Sunderland and are designed to generate thousands of new jobs through driving innovation at a local level. The Bradford project is being led by the University of Bradford supported by other Yorkshire’s universities.

Former Bradford Council chief executive Tony Reeves started his new job with business advisory firm Deloitte as a partner in its public sector practice. He said he would use his 20 years experience in local government as an adviser helping councils across the country to cope with the inpact of austerity budget cuts Mr Reeves stood down from Bradford Council in October after eight years in the top job.

Advising firms in the Bradford area helped accountants Armstrong Watson achieve the most new projects and deals completed in five years. The firm, which established a base at City Hub in Little Germany last year, said the substantial business growth achieved by its corporate finance team was part of a new long-term regional strategy. The Yorkshire team was brought together from surrounding offices led by partner Phil Bailey with a specific focus to advise businesses in Bradford, especially family-run and owner-managed companies.

DECEMBER

Two Bradford district firms featured on a national list of businesses with the fastest-growing sales over the last three years. Redfern Travel, based in Eldon Place, Bradford, and SportsShoes.com from Shipley, were listed in the Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100 league table. Redfern was in 50th place with sales growth of 69 per cent over the last three years to March 2014. SportsShoes.com was in 100th place, with a 45 per cent annual growth over the period.

Manufacturers in West Yorkshire agreed to collaborate more closely to address capacity gaps following the launch of a new forum. Industry body EEF met firms’ requests by launching a regional Manufacturing Growth Forum at a meeting hosted by Heckmondwike machine tools maker the 600 Group. The new group will use EEF’s relationships with stakeholders and policy makers in the UK and Europe, to connect manufacturers and open up supply chains across the region as more companies bring back production to the UK .

A Keighley steel tube manufacturing company moved a step ahead of its competitors after becoming one of a handful of UK firms in its sector to receive an EU seal of approval. Wells Spiral Tubes Ltd, based in Prospect Works, Airedale Road, which makes and distributes spiral tubes, fabrications and associate fittings across the UK and Europe, achieved a CE marking for its flue systems after rigorous testing.

A Keighley steel tube company, Wells Spiral Tubes Ltd, based in Prospect Works, moved a step ahead of its competitors after becoming one of a handful of UK firms in its sector to receive an EU seal of approval.