2006 in review by Deborah Johnson

JANUARY

THE legal dispute between Multiplex and Cleveland Bridge over the Wembley Stadium project took another twist after a secret email from Multiplex came to light. The company proposed, allegedly, to "f***" its rival. It marked the latest stage in the multi-million pound dispute, which began when Cleveland walked off the project last year. In court papers, the company accused Multiplex of launching "the Armageddon Plan", which was to put the Darlington company out of business and deal with any potential court action after the Wembley project was finished.

THE UK's largest van hire group, Northgate, based in Darlington, paid £5.7m for fleet management company FTL. The move came only weeks after Northgate announced it had experienced the toughest six months in its history, and hinted at moving into fleet management in an effort to increase its profitability. FTL, based in the Team Valley, and its IT software operation, Fleet Dynamix, were bought in the deal. Northgate chief executive Steve Smith, pictured below, said the acquisition formed part of the company's strategic plan to expand the vehicle solutions operation of the company,

CAR dealership Lookers offered £492m in the takeover battle for Sunderland rival Reg Vardy. The offer trumped a £450m bid tabled by market leader Pendragon before Christmas and promised to net the Vardy family £137.8m. Lookers said it hoped to double in size by acquiring Vardy's 102 sites to add to its network of 93 showrooms, and said the deal was attractive because it was strong in the North-West and in Northern Ireland, while Reg Vardy is focused on Scotland, the North-East and the Midlands.

SKINCARE specialist Dermasalve floated on London's junior stock market, the Alternative Investment Market (Aim), at a value of £6.57m. The company, was founded in 2003 by County Durham GP Dr Mark Randle.

FEBRUARY

Thorn Lighting announced it was building a multi-million-pound factory, safeguarding jobs for the foreseeable future. Thorn, which has a factory in Spennymoor, County Durham, employing about 700 people, said the factory could be built by 2008. Operations director David Johnston said: "The company has obtained the option to purchase land on the Green Lane Industrial Estate to build a manufacturing facility that safeguards employment for the foreseeable future. We will close our current building and move to a brand new site."

STAG Furniture, one of the North-East's biggest furniture companies, plunged into administration after falling victim to a downturn in consumer spending, it emerged last night. Stag Furniture, which employed more than 550 people at its Sunderland base, appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as administrators. The business, which sells its products through mail order companies and independent retailers, is believed to have suffered significant losses as a result of a severe retail downturn in the UK during the past 12 months.

LOOKERS announced it had walked away from the battle to take over Reg Vardy's car dealerships. The move came after Vardy backed a £506m offer from Pendragon. Lookers said it was in the best interests of its shareholders not to proceed with a bid for Vardy after its £492m offer was trumped by Pendragon's 900p-a-share bid. In a statement, Lookers said: "After considering its options, the Lookers board believes that it is in the best interests of its shareholders not to proceed with an offer for Reg Vardy and, accordingly, does not intend to implement its proposal to acquire Reg Vardy."

MARCH

GOVERNMENT figures revealed that more than 2,000 people joined North-East dole queues in the three months to January. The results came after companies in the region announced job cuts nearly every week since the start of the year, with redundancies reported in the previous six months reaching nearly 3,000.

UNIONS described furniture group MFI's decision to close its Stockton factory, with the loss of 533 jobs, as a dark day for UK manufacturing. The move came as part of group-wide plans to cut nearly 1,500 jobs across the UK as the company plunged £600,000 into the red. Allan Gray, regional organiser for the Transport and General Workers' Union, said: "This is absolutely devastating for Stockton and the surrounding area, and it is a dark day for manufacturing in Britain."

Sunderland furniture maker Stag announced it was to close with the loss of more than 370 jobs, adding to the 180 job cuts made only two weeks earlier. Stag said the decision was made after continued losses of more than £10m in the past three years. It blamed a downturn in consumer spending and tough trading conditions for its demise. Union officials said they were "disgusted" by management's handling of the situation.

READY meals manufacturer Kerry Foods confirmed it was making 320 staff redundant in the region, despite investing millions of pounds in the North-East. Two years after Kerry saved hundreds of jobs when it bought Hibernia Foods' ready meals business in Hartlepool, it said lack of demand had forced it to make most of the staff redundant.

KITKAT and Rolo manufacturer Nestle Rowntree announced it was to cut 275 jobs in the region, blaming energy costs and a competitive market. The York company, part of food group Nestle, said it was making 234 redundancies in York and another 41 at its factory in Fawdon, Newcastle.

APRIL

THE Northern Echo revealed that troubled Swan Hunter was selling a mothballed shipyard, raising hopes of a revival of shipbuilding on the River Tees. Swans, based in North Tyneside, said it was handing over its 41-acre Port Clarence yard to Hartlepool fabrications company Wilton Marine Services. The news came as owner Jaap Kroese threatened to quit Swans after it failed to land a major share in a £4bn Ministry of Defence aircraft carrier contract and was also hit by delays in securing crucial shipbreaking licences. The 57-year-old Dutch millionaire said: "I'm giving up. I can't go on like this. I'm not far off leaving."

TEESPORT owner PD Ports submitted plans to bring more than 5,500 jobs to the region by creating a £300m container terminal on the Tees. The company gave its plans to Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council for consideration. If approved, goods could be imported directly from the Far East, increasing the North-East's economic output by millions of pounds. David Robinson, managing director of PD Teesport, said in support of the application: "The deep-sea container terminal will bring significant new inward investment to the North and will bring new jobs to an area which desperately needs this economic and social stimulus."

MORE than 150 jobs were saved in the small County Durham community of Evenwood with a management buyout of the Eliza Tinsley metal fabrication plant. The plant, which went into administration in January, was bought from administrators Ernst and Young. Earlier in the year, as the company hit difficulties, 60 jobs were lost. The company was renamed Evenwood Industries, but managers said it would specialise in the same sector for serving the same customers.

TYRE-MAKER Goodyear Dunlop announced that it was ending production at its plant in Washington, Wearside, with the loss of nearly 600 jobs in the region. The news came as the second blow to the Sunderland area in only a few weeks, following the closure of the city's Stag Furniture plant. Richard Johnson, managing director of Goodyear Dunlop UK, said: "We have worked with our unions and associates to improve cost-competitiveness at our Washington plant. Despite the efforts of all involved, we have been unable to manufacture tyres at a competitive cost level."

MAY

TWO companies announced plans to develop alternative fuel sites on Teesside, adding to efforts to put the region at the centre of the renewable fuels industry. Biofuels firm Vireol confirmed it had plans to build an £80m plant on Teesside, with the creation of 70 jobs. The company, based in Stokesley, said it planned to start building the plant, which would produce ethanol from wheat, at the beginning of next year, producing 150,000 tonnes of bioethanol a year. Tees Valley Biofuels (TVB) also planned to invest £47m in a seed-crushing plant, creating 45 jobs and securing hundreds more. The plant promised to be the UK's first major new oil seed rape processing plant in a generation.

THE region braced itself for job cuts after mobile phone operator Orange announced it was to axe up to 2,000 jobs nationwide as part of efforts to reduce costs by 15 per cent. The French-owned group employs 5,300 people across the North-East at call centres in Darlington, Peterlee, in east Durham, and on North Tyneside. The Darlington centre employs about 2,500 people.

MORE than 500 workers with disabilities across the region faced an uncertain future as Remploy factories came under threat of closure. Speculation was rife that the Government's review of the company would lead to cutbacks and fears were raised that some of the eight factories in the North-East would be affected. The Department for Work and Pensions announced it was to review how Remploy operated after a report by the National Audit Office found that some of its 82 factory businesses were not financially sustainable.

SUNDERLAND bus and train group Arriva strengthened its presence in Europe after acquiring a £41m stake in a Portuguese transport company. The group took 21.5 per cent of privately-owned passenger transport group Barraqueiro. A spokesman for Arriva said funding for the deal was helped by the sale of its vehicle rental business, AVR, to Northgate, in Darlington, in February, for £129m.

JUNE

ENGINEERING company The Tanfield Group signed a deal to buy Irish manufacturer UpRight Powered Access, for £13.7m. The move also paved the way for 400 jobs to be transferred to the region. Tanfield, then based in Stanley, County Durham, took over the lease of vigo250, the former LG Electronics plant in Washington, Wearside, to house its acquisition. Ron Stanley, chief executive and chairman of The Tanfield Group, said: "This move will not only result in 400 jobs being created over the next three years, but will see the flagship vigo250 facility, one of the largest manufacturing sites in the region, brought back into use."

RUSSIAN billionaire and Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich was said to be in talks with steelmaker Corus over buying a stake in the company. Only hours after paying £30m for record signing Andriy Shevchenko, speculation was rife that Mr Abramovich had his sights set on the Anglo-Dutch firm, which employs 3,000 people in the North-East. The rumours, although seemingly without foundation, were well received in the City, with the Corus share price rising three per cent.

* Part two tomorrow