BUSINESS leaders were officially appointed to the North East Local Enterprise Partnership, which is designed to take on the region-supporting mantle of One North East.

Paul Woolston of PwC was made chairman, while panel members also included Fiona Cruickshank of SCM Pharma, Dr Arnab Basu of Kromek and Wessington Cryogenics director Gill Southern.

The LEP is made up of employers, council leaders and education chiefs. A separate Teesside LEP was green-lit late last year.

July was the month that finally marked the closure of care home operator Southern Cross after a turbulent 2011. The Darlington firm had been plagued by money troubles, and its time ran out after it continued to struggle to pay rent to landlords.

Many homes were transferred to new operators in the following months.

Northern Rock Asset Management announced underlying profits were up to £344m in the first half of the year, and that it was taking on 100 extra staff to deal with demand.

The firm, formed when the Government split the nationalised Newcastle-based bank to form NRAM and Northern Rock plc, added it had repaid another £1bn to the Government in that period.

Nissan launched a recruitment campaign for 200 engineers and maintenance technicians in the week an EU report praised the Wearside plant as the most productive car plant in UK history.

Nissan also pushed Arriva into second place in the Top 200 List of North East companies, with turnover of £3.1bn in 2010.

Newcastle International Airport said it had “weathered the storm very well”, despite pre-tax losses increasing from £4.1m to £4.8m and passenger numbers dropping from 4.6m to 4.4m in the 2010 financial year.