2019 may have been a year characterised by uncertainty caused by Brexit and a snap General Election, but that didn't stop many firms from across the North West having a terrific 12 months.
Firms in sectors including creative, hospitality, retail and beauty have managed to overcome the doom and gloom to record impressive financial results, growth and expansion.
In no particular order, here, BusinessLive picks 11 firms from across the North West who have had a brilliant 2019:
Baltic Creative
Baltic Creative, the team behind much of Liverpool's Baltic Triangle's success, is looking to expand its operations and open "at least" two new digital, creative and tech (DCT) neighbourhoods in Southport and the Fabric District.
As part of the Baltic Creative's 10-year anniversary, the firm that boasts a footprint of 118,000sq ft, and is home to over 180 businesses and 600 staff in the famous Baltic Triangle creative district, has announced a "significant change in direction".
It has said that as part of its growth ambitions, over the next three years, it is aiming to deliver at least two new spaces in Southport and the Fabric District.
Miss Group
Miss Group was awarded a £14m follow-on investment from the British Growth Fund (BGF) in June - and secured a £20m debt funding commitment from HSBC 海角视频 in October - to help it expand globally through its acquisition strategy.
The business, which offers services including web hosting, domain registration and VPS to SMEs, bought global cloud wholesaler company Ilait in July, through which its customer base grew by 35,000.
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This month, Miss Group made a double acquisition in the US and Canada. It acquired Hostek, a US based web hosting company with revenues of US$7.5m, and an unnamed Canadian company, which has a turnover of £2.5m.
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Graffiti Spirits
Independent restaurant-bar group Graffiti Spirits has been heavily involved in the North West restaurant and bar scene’s growth over the last decade, and in June, topped that off with the opening of Duke Street Market.
The bar's portfolio of venues includes nine in Liverpool, and 2019 saw it celebrate a decade in business.
Graffiti Spirits has also been shortlisted for Innovator of the Year in the Restaurant Marketer and Innovator Awards alongside national giants such as Caluccio's, Cafe Rouge and All Bar One.
The Hut Group
Online health and beauty retailer The Hut Group started 2019 on a positive note as the group reported it was on track to reach £1bn revenues in the financial year to December.
In 2019, the group acquired Manchester Airport land as part of its commitment at Airport City where it plans to develop 1m sq ft of office and studio space over two sites.
In Manchester, the firm made a swoop for Jamie Oliver's city centre restaurant after it slumped into administration.
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It ended the year on an equally positive note, announcing in December that it had raised £1bn to fund further growth.
Appreciate Group (previously Park Group)
Another firm to have had an eventful - and successful year. 2019 saw it change its name, before the famous Merseyside gift card and Christmas hamper company reported soaring revenues of 21% over the last six months.
That came after Appreciate Group - previously Park Group - relocated its head office from Birkenhead to Liverpool city centre and began trialling a new consumer digital gifting product, Giftli - aimed at appealing to a new millennial audience.
Now, the group has bold ambitions to strengthen its market positions in the 海角视频, and wants to expand its consumer offering, gearing up to launch a range of innovative new products for customers in the 海角视频.
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Boohoo
Fashion retailer Boohoo has obviously been a vastly successful business pre-2019, but this year has been no different.
Ex-Primark founder John Lyttle began his new role as CEO amid a big reshuffle of the online firm's bosses, with sales then growing to more than £1bn for the first time.
The firm also acquired Coast and Karen Millen out of administration for £18.2m.
Despite the downturn in fortunes for the retail sector, Boohoo seemed to weather the storm in 2019.
LMA
The Liverpool Media Academy (LMA) has had something of an influx of big-name investors over the past year.
None other than global superstar Robbie Williams - who chose the LMA Choir as one of his final four acts for the X Factor Live Shows is now a co-owner, as are former Tesco chief Sir Terry Leahy and investment expert Bill Currie, with the trio all having joined the team this year.
That's not to mention the firm announcing it is to open a brand new campus at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London next year.
It will start welcoming students in September to the new "state-of-the-art" site at Here East, an innovation cluster at the East London development - said to be the fastest growing cluster of tech and creative firms in the capital.
Didsbury Gin
Didsbury Gin started off 2019 well with an investment from Dragon’s Den's Jenny Campbell, with co-founders Mark Smallwood and Liam Manton appearing in an episode that aired in January.
Since then, the brand has secured listings in Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, Aldi and Wetherspoon's, describing it as a "solid year".
Mowgli
This Liverpool-founded chain is another to be celebrating an excellent 2019.
Now boasting 10 restaurants across the 海角视频 and with revenues growing on average by around two thirds a year, there are further plans for expansion across the 海角视频 in 2020.
Mowgli was also ranked for a second successive year in the Sunday Times' Fast Track 100 list of the country's most dynamic businesses.
Ms Katona, now a regular guest on various TV shows, was also awarded an honorary doctorate by Edge Hill University towards the end of the year.
ParkVia
Online airports parking retailer ParkVia has not only expanded its Manchester city centre office this year, but also accelerated international growth.
The firm re-branded from ParkCloud in May, and won its second Queen’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade in April.
Managing director Mark Pegler said the company has seen huge overseas expansion in the past six years working closely with car park operators and travel industry market leaders, and in recent months it has strengthened its partnership with Portugal’s flag carrier, TAP Air Portugal, Polish airport, Lodz, and Aeroporti di Roma.
Purple Wifi
While Purple has long been a Wifi solution used by businesses, 2019 saw the platform undergo a complete re-write.
Purple started the year with the launch of a new platform so its users could better understand their customer base. As a result, it has enjoyed a year of acquisitions and partnerships, most notably partnering with BT to extend its Wifi offering to business customers.
The former boss of BT also joined as a non-exec director joining the board alongside Sir Terry Leahy and Bob Willett, with the view to help the WiFi platform and analytics provider with its global expansion.
The business also acquired US wayfinding business LogicJunction, which it said will “enhance the Purple portfolio” and allow it to bolster its “intelligent spaces” proposition.