Some have come in, some have gone, some are there as always - Peter Baber presents our list of the 100 most powerful people in Yorkshire business in 2008.
Power base: supermarket retailing, and Bradford What's he done recently? Pulled off a feat that just about every retailer in the country would want to achieve: forced Tesco to admit defeat in the race to come top in the Christmas sales. Like-for-like sales over the Christmas period at Britain's fourth largest retailer were 9.5 per cent, excluding fuel. That compares with 3.1 per cent at Tesco, Britain's largest retailer - a figure that was enough to get analysts claiming that the "Tescopoly' was over and the store itself to hand in the towel to Morrison's a week ahead of Morrison's own results.
Such figures can only be good news for Morrison's, which in the past few years has seen nothing but bad news in the wake of its troubled takeover of Safeway. After a string of profit warnings, there was even speculation that it could be in the sights of a venture capitalist, as Sainsbury's had been for a time.
So does this mean its troubles are behind it? Most analysts seem to think it does, although they are quick to point out that the figures by themselves do not mean that Morrison's is about to start enjoying the kind of market hegemony that Tesco has enjoyed for years.
But the figures could not have come at a better time for Bolland, a former marketing man with a 20-year history at Heineken. With Sir Ken Morrison finally set to step down at the company's next AGM in March 2008, and no obvious younger member of the Morrison family waiting in the wings to cast a shadow over proceedings, the way could finally be clear for Bolland to stamp his own authority on the store. Some see this already happening, in the form of the bold new advertising campaign the store launched in summer 2007, a campaign so popular it got Take That (whose song it used) back in the charts. Morrison's claimed the campaign was partly responsible for such a good set of Christmas results.
What next? With Sir Ken sailing away into retirement, the road ahead is clear for Bolland. It can only be hoped that as Morrison's takes on more of the trappings of a conventional supermarket giant, it still manages to retain something of its Yorkshire spirit. That should get all those southerners who were so snooty at the time of the Safeway takeover wincing.
Power base: property, Sheffield, and football. What's he done recently? McCabe may have sold off part of his property interests to Australian group Valad, but he still remains a strong force in Sheffield, both on the property side, with his ambitious new plans unveiled at the Creative Sheffield masterplan launch (see Agenda), and, of course, in football. Sheffield United recently confirmed it is in an arbitration procedure with the Football Association and West Ham over the Tevez affair and the Blades' unfortunate relegation. While some might question the wisdom of carrying on with a case that has already been thrown out twice on appeal, it does at least show the tenacity of those at the top. And that's the kind of tenacity you need when you are developing an empire the size of McCabe's.
What next? McCabe has ambitions in Europe. The future is looking ever wider.
Bond's star appearance at a Yorkshire Forward-organised event about corporate social responsibility in 2007 underlines how much added focus this Wal-mart subsidiary is giving to its public image - which is not surprising, really, given some of the adverse media reports its American owners have been getting.
A career Asda man, Bond is hugely enthusiastic about his store's progress from being launched by a group of farmers midway through last century to challenging the likes of Tesco and Sainsbury's today.
What next? Most recently Bond has said he wants Asda to enter the retail energy market, providing energy from totally sustainable sources. Such a move, if it comes off, will be closely watched by everyone in retail, as it was considered by both Tesco and Sainsbury's, but rejected because of the damage it might do to their brands.
Power base: Housebuilding, York What's he done recently? Persimmon remains one of the largest companies in Yorkshire by turnover, but it is, alas, no longer the largest UK housebuilder, following mergers between Barrett Developments and Wilson Bowden and Taylor Woodrow and George Wimpey, to create even bigger super-groups of housebuilders.
The company claims it is not interested in seeking to be the number one housebuilder above all else. There had, for example, been some speculation that it might make a bid for South Yorkshire-based Ben Bailey, but in the end that merged with Gladedale.
And now, in 2008, we may be in for a cooler few months in the market. In a recent trading statement, Persimmon revealed that forward sales for the year are down by nearly £3100m.
What next? Carefully planning the year ahead, as even the most enthusiastic estate agents admits there is a correction going on in the housing market at present.
Power base: Politics. What's he done recently? Gordon Brown's right-hand man may not have become Chancellor, but there can hardly be a more contentious portfolio to have in the run-up to an election - whenever that may be - than education. Privately-educated Balls is seen as the man behind many initiatives to bring a stronger sense of egalitarianism to the education system - such as forcing private schools to live up to their charitable status by taking on more children from underprivileged backgrounds.
The much-vaunted wunderkind is also in the lucky position of winning selection to not one, but two safe Labour seats. He became MP for Normanton after the election in 2005, but that constituency is due to be abolished at the next election - a move Balls unsuccessfully challenged in the High Court - with some of it being merged with neighbouring Morley and Rothwell. How fortunate, then, that at just the right time Colin Challen, the MP for that constituency, should announce that he would stand down at the next election to concentrate on campaigning on climate change, leaving the way open for Balls to be selected for the new constituency of Morley and Outwood.
What next? It's not what happens in the next year that could prove crucial for Balls, but what should happen if Gordon Brown were to lose the next general election. Many say he has been so closely tied with Brown that he would be unlikely to succeed as well without him.
What's he done recently? Been in a spot of bother over undeclared contributions to his unsuccessful bid to become deputy Labour leader - although nothing like the kind of bother that saw former Cabinet colleague Peter Hain resign and which to some extent still hangs over Harriet Harman, the eventual winner in that election.
Notting Hill-born Johnson has strongly embraced his adopted city. With the demise of John Prescott the formal postal workers' union leader is now probably the most powerful political figure in the east of our region. His health remit is just as crucial as Balls' (see right), but since joining the Cabinet in 2004 - curiously enough the first trade union leader to do so since 1964 - he has had four different posts. So you could say he has a more rounded experience.
What next? Johnson declared on Desert Island Discs that he was not interested in running to be leader of the Labour Party because he did not think he was good enough. There are many people out there who think he must have been being disingenuous.
Power base: Utilities. What's he done recently? Backed a £33bn bid for his company, which owns Yorkshire Water, by a consortium including Citigroup and HSBC. The bid was just going through its final stages as Insider went to press.
Kelda's takeover is the latest in a long line of utility company takeovers, with both Southern Water and Thames Water being swallowed up in a similar way in the past year. There are some in the region who have questioned why the water regulator seems so unwilling even to consider trying to call a halt to such acquisitions by global fund managers. Whiteman, however, says the bid "gives committed and long-term ownership for both our customers and shareholders".
What next? Seeing the bid through and then who knows?
Power base: Property. What's he done recently? With most major office moves into Bridgewater Place having been completed, most people's attention in Leeds will now refocus on Lumiere, Linfoot's new project which includes bringing the tallest residential tower in Europe to the heart of Leeds. Should this be completed as planned it will be a welcome boost in confidence to a market that may have been shaken by the mothballing of Greenbank, a less ambitious scheme just a stone's throw across the River Aire.
What next? KW Linfoot has just announced a range of new appointments aimed at strengthening the board. Could this mean that, with Lumiere safely delivered, Linfoot may have plans to take his foot off the pedal to concentrate on his other business interests, such as his art business?
Power base: Shoes and property. What's he done recently? Ziff has committed himself to a whip-round of Bradford businesses to try to raise the money needed to get the mirror pool scheme up and running in Bradford after it failed to win £324m lottery funding. Given the amount of political cachxe9 resting on this - the project may be controversial, but its failure would be embarrassing to a city that insists it is coming out of decades of being in the doldrums - that is quite a task.
At the same time rumours abound about a possible merger between shoe retail group Stylo and Clark's, although for the moment these remain just rumours. Ziff is, of course, also director at Town Centre Securities, where his brother Edward (see below) is chief executive. You could almost say they divide up Leeds and Bradford between them.
What next? Fundraising like mad.
What's he done recently? Continued to run one of the largest seafood processing operations in the UK and a major employer within the region. Griffiths is a passionate promoter of the east Yorkshire area as a hub for food processing. Following Young's owner Foodvest's acquisition of the Findus brand in 2006, more companies moving into the areas many new business parks and the building of a seafood institute in Grimsby, his campaigning seems to be paying off.
What next? More lobbying.
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