Launch of the New Anglia enterprise Zone Bid at the Riverside Business Centre. Looking at the site proposals Picture: James Bass

January

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Retailers were braced for a new year hangover after VAT rose from 17.5pc to 20pc on January 4.

Support to small start-up businesses faced a blow when the government announced Business Link was to close. It closed in November.

Tragedy struck in Great Yarmouth when four men died at Claxton Engineering when they were crushed by falling steel.

Just days into his tenure as Barclays’ new boss, multi-millionaire banker Bob Diamond said the time for “remorse and apology” needed to be over in order to allow banks to support Britain’s recovery. He pledged to show restraint over banker pay but told MPs big bonuses were here to stay if the sector was to succeed.

February

As jobless figures rose again, February’s statistics prompted the region’s business leaders to call for red tape to be cut to help stem the tide.

It was the end of an era for Premier Foods at King’s Lynn and Wisbech as canning factories in the two towns were sold to Princes.

During a visit to the east of England the president of the European Commission said work carried out in the region, including the University of East Anglia’s InCrops programme was among the “tools we have to promote economic growth” across Europe.

Meanwhile UEA scientists who found a way to identify illegal drug use and a person’s identity simultaneously through a simple fingerprint test secured a £300,000 investment to spin-out company Intelligent Fingerprinting.

Kettle Foods owner Diamond Foods announced a £6.2m expansion of the Norwich factory – it was completed in September.

March

It was a bad month for the high street. East Anglia electrical brand Bennetts, pictured right, went into administration. It was later bought by Lowestoft-based Hughes Electrical in a deal which allowed six of the 16 stores to carry on trading.

Chancellor George Osborne, in his Budget, announced he would help motorists by cutting fuel duty, gave extra funding to Norwich Research Park and raised hopes of the county winning an enterprise zone and university technical college.

The 2011 EDP Business Awards were launched.

April

Norwich & Peterborough Building Society was fined £1.4m and agreed to pay £51m to its customers after it mis-sold investment products in collapsed firm Keydata Investment Services.

Unilever announced a £2.6m investment at its Colmans factory in Norwich, but warned that jobs could be lost as a result.

And business leaders spoke of their disappointment after the region missed out on a £450m regional growth fund.

May

Businesses were given a boost when the government backed a £15m bid to bring better broadband to Norfolk following an EDP campaign.

But the high street was dealt another blow when Mothercare unveiled plans to close 110 outlets and focus on out-of-town superstores.

A Russian billionaire vowed to secure a “dynamic future” for Waterstone’s after striking a £53m deal to buy the book shop from ailing HMV and another 3,000 retail jobs faced the axe after the administrator for Focus DIY failed to find a buyer for the collapsed business. Ernst & Young held closing-down sales across 123 stores it was unable to find buyers for.

June

Energy giant Shell was fined £1m and ordered to pay £242,000 in costs after a court case following an explosion at its North Norfolk gas plant three years ago.

The government came under pressure to help end uncertainty over the future of thousands of elderly residents and staff at Britain’s largest care homes group Southern Cross. The company, responsible for 31,000 elderly residents, announced it would underpay its rent in a bid to cope with a £230m annual rental bill.

RAC – the UK’s second largest breakdown recovery group – was sold by Nowich-based insurer Aviva in a £1bn deal with private equity group Carlyle. It bought RAC for £1.1bn in 2005 before offloading BSM and Auto Windscreens.

Talk abounds that Greece will be forced to become the first country to leave the eurozone. Eurozone ministers say Greece must impose new austerity measures before it gets the next tranche of its loan, without which the country will probably default on its enormous debts.

July

The EDP called on readers to back its local shops on Independents’ Day 2011.

Workers at British Sugar voted whether to go on strike at its factories in Wissington, Cantley and Bury St Edmunds.

And traders welcomed a government pledge to cut red tape. Vince Cable said more than half of all retail regulation would be scrapped.

Airport operator BAA was told it must sell two of its UK airports after a ruling by the Competition Commission was upheld. It will have to sell Stansted and either Edinburgh or Glasgow airport.

August

The government gave the green light to the New Anglia enterprise zone, right, hailed as the key to kick-starting a boom in the energy sector and pave the way for thousands of new jobs.

London’s FTSE 100 Index tumbled some 10pc in two weeks amid panic that the eurozone will be crushed under the weight of its debts and America will lead the world back into recession.

Rail commuters reacted with horror to the prospect of their season tickets going up by an average of 8pc in the new year. The increase was calculated by adding 3pc to the headline RPI rate of inflation for July, which was 5pc.

September

Leading tourism businesses in Norfolk and Suffolk joined forces to create a new body called Visit East Anglia, right. The new not-for-profit company aims to create a new unified voice for the industry.

And Hughes Electrical was named the EDP Business of the Year, right, at a glittering awards ceremony in Norwich. It was among a number of the region’s businesses to be recognised.

Staff at the Holt Road Cromer Crab Company were told that the site may close putting 230 jobs under threat.

Norfolk businessman Andrew Kerry launched the first batch of his Andy Pad computer tablets, which he hopes will challenge the dominance of computer giants such as Apple.

And a new biorefinery at the Institute of Food Research was launched to harness waste produce to turn into clean fuel for the future.

Defence giant BAE Systems confirmed that almost 3,000 posts were to be axed on a “dark day” for British manufacturing.

A third of the care homes run by Southern Cross were handed over to new operators as part of plans to shut down the sector’s biggest operator. Four Seasons Health Care and Bondcare were among those taking on the homes.

October

Crunch talks were held between small Norfolk businesses and the main high street banks where they were urged to provide effective services and start lending.

Dutch rail operator Abellio were awarded the franchise for the Greater Anglia railway.

The UK’s biggest nightclub owner collapsed into administration after banks pulled the plug, putting 3,000 jobs at risk. Luminar, which ran Project Nightclub in Norwich, was told by its lenders that they would not extend a recent period of leniency.

North Norfolk’s Fisheries Local Action Group submitted a £2.4m application for European funding to help keep its fishing heritage alive and provide a sustainable future for fishermen in the area.

Confidence in the UK’s financial sector was dealt a blow after ratings agency Moody’s slashed the credit ratings of some of Britain’s biggest banks to reflect reduced government support.

Technology visionary Steve Jobs, co-founder and former chief executive of US technology giant Apple, died aged 56.

November

The Norwich
 and Peterborough Building Society merged with Yorkshire Building Society.

City College Norwich was one five higher education institutions across the country to found a new Gazelle group formed of private and public sector leaders to focus on helping thousands of students battling to find work form their own companies capable of quick growth.

Taxpayers were sitting on a potential £400m loss after Northern Rock was sold to Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Money. The tycoon vowed to challenge the industry’s ‘big five’ after agreeing the £747m deal for the business, which boasts 75 branches, one million customers and £14bn of mortgages.

Shares in holidays giant Thomas Cook plunged after it admitted dire trading had forced it back to its banks for more financial help.

Electrical chain Comet was sold for a token £2 to retail turnaround firm OpCapita. Its owner Kesa Electricals called time on the loss-making business but will still pump in £50m and take on the company’s pension scheme. Top Shop and BHS owner Sir Philip Green warned about 10pc of his retail empire faced closure.

December

Business leaders and politicians hailed the government’s award of £86.5m for Norwich’s northern distributor road as a “tremendous shot in the arm for the Norfolk economy”.

The long-awaited announcement by transport secretary Justine Greening paves the way for the controversial 14km dual-carriageway which would link the A47 at Postwick to the A140 at Norwich airport.