The dire financial woes of the city council, the axing of a huge part of HS2 and more regeneration than Birmingham's citizens could poke a stick at.
It was another busy year in the West Midlands' business world so once again Midlands business editor Tamlyn Jones rounds up some of the key headlines in our four-part Review of the Year, kicking off with the first quarter of 2023.
Our review of the first quarter of 2023 kicks off with the news that huge new plans were unveiled for the old John Lewis department store in Birmingham city centre.
The four-floor retail extravaganza opened to much fanfare in 2015 above New Street station but fell victim to covid-19 and changing consumer habits, never reopening following those first lockdowns in 2020.
Landlord Hammerson announced it wanted to convert the vacant unit into a new hub, containing a restaurant, food market, event space, gym and 200,000 sq ft of offices capable of housing 2,000 people. To be called Drum as a nod to its distinctive shape, the project won planning consent in March and is expected to open in 2025.
Domestic airline Flybe fell into administration in January, just 15 months after being relaunched at Birmingham Airport. The carrier, which focussed mainly on domestic flights, announced it had ceased trading and cancelled all services with immediate effect.
The majority of staff based at its Birmingham Airport head office and on-board crew were made redundant but shortly afterwards Ryanair set up a fast-track recruitment process for affected employees.
Originally based in Exeter, the old Flybe collapsed into administration shortly before the covid-19 lockdowns started in March 2020 but was bought out later by a previous shareholder.
Completion of the revamped railway station on the University of Birmingham's campus was hit by more delays.
Originally scheduled to launch in time for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, the project has been plagued by problems in finishing the work to connect it to the main campus over the canal via a new bridge.
Although elements such as the widening of platforms has been finished, it was reported in January that inflationary pressures had hit the overall completion date again.
The future of green transport in the region took a blow after start-up battery firm Britishvolt collapsed into administration. The fledgling company had aspirations of launching a major electric vehicle gigafactory in the North East and a £200 million battery cell development facility on Prologis Park Hams Hall, east of Birmingham, to support its operations.
It would have created 150 new manufacturing jobs in the West Midlands but Britishvolt's management called in administrators after a failed 11th-hour bid to rescue the company. It promoted Prologis UK, the Solihull-based industrial property specialist and owner of Hams Hall, to confirm the huge vacant warehouse there was being placed back on the market.
The controversial e-scooter initiative in Birmingham came to a halt after transport chiefs announced it was to stop temporarily. The programme, introduced and run by Swedish company Voi since 2020, had proved a divisive one, with many bemoaning a lack of safety and poor consideration by riders towards pedestrians and the vulnerable.
But others praised the mode of transport as a convenient and easy way to make short journeys around the city. The scheme was resurrected in August by new operator Beryl with greater restrictions and safety checks on those using the scooters.
Transport chiefs revealed plans to build five brand new railway stations in the West Midlands in February.
The quintet of sites were chosen from a longlist of 15 possible locations after a feasibility study was carried out, with those five felt to have the strongest case for development first. The locations are Balsall Heath and Castle Bromwich in Birmingham, Coventry East in Binley, Foleshill north of Coventry and Tettenhall, north west of Wolverhampton.
Despite it being nearly six years since infrastructure giant Carillion collapsed, the former Black Country company remained firmly in the headlines.
Big four financial services firm KPMG reached an agreement over a £1.3 billion lawsuit brought by liquidators of the collapsed construction and outsourcing group. The lawsuit related to audits of Wolverhampton-based Carillion's accounts by KPMG between 2014 and 2016.
It was launched by the Official Receiver last year after KPMG was accused of missing "red flags" during its audits of the business.
The receiver is trying to recoup losses on behalf of Carillion's creditors which are owed money in the wake of its collapse in January 2018 under a mountain of debt estimated at £7 billion.
New film and TV production studios which could create 760 jobs were launched in Birmingham. Spades went into the ground at the Digbeth Loc. project which is being spearheaded by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight.
The canalside development, in Fazeley Street, will see disused, old Victorian-era buildings converted into a modern complex, comprising three film studios, production offices and construction workshops, spanning 80,000 sq ft. It has been in the pipeline for years but March's developments marked concrete progress for the project.
Completing our look at quarter one, is more bad news for luxury sports car maker Aston Martin after it revealed annual losses had more than doubled in 2022 as it blamed a £156 million hit from the weakened pound.
The Warwickshire-based group posted a pre-tax loss of £495 million for last year against a loss of £213.8 million in 2021 after seeing the pound tumble in value against the US dollar. It also said the group's performance was affected by supply chain disruption but that revenue actually rose from £1.1 billion in 2021 to £1.38 billion, according to accounts for 2022.
