As the song End of Beginning by Djo goes: “Remember ‘24?”

Last year has certainly been memorable from many aspects. From bidding farewell to long-standing businesses and welcoming major international brands to witnessing heated rivalries and significant acquisitions, the year has been nothing short of transformative.

As 2024 wrapped up, WhosWho.mt delve into some of the most notable events, including the rise of price wars, large-scale developments, mergers, and the bittersweet closure of Malta’s national airline, Air Malta.

The end of an era

A wave of nostalgia hit former Junior College students who undoubtedly bought food or spent some time at Blue Bar, an iconic bistro that stood at the college’s doorstep and has shut down its doors for good. 

Joining the list of restaurants ringing in the end of an era is L’Orangerie, which recently announced that it would also call it a day.

Yet perhaps one of the most surprising closures of the year is Damiano’s Desserts, the much loved Gżira cafeteria and patisserie. The gluten free community was saddened to lose one of the very few businesses on the islands to cater for gluten and dairy free individuals. However, the owners remarked that while business was doing well, closure was motivated by personal reasons.

Valletta also succumbed to shop closures and while businesses like Caffè Berry and Charles and Ron closed their shop in the locality, long-standing A.Agius Watch Dealers closed its shutters permanently. The shop, which had been in operations for nearly 90 years, stands in Melita Street and joins the list of long-standing small family-run businesses that have faded from the capital city.

Virtually, online site ‘We Are Not A Shop’ also decided to call it a day after years of raising funds for two local charities: Save the Valletta Skyline Appeal and St John  Ambulance and Rescue.

However, it should be noted that the biggest closure of all, etched in Malta’s history, is the end of Air Malta. Despite being a long time coming, Air Malta’s last flight on 31st March 2024 was heartbreaking for many. WhosWho.mt looked at some of its key highlights including having key guests like Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. Now Malta has KM Malta airlines as its national flag carrier.  

Price wars, new projects in the pipeline and the HSBC takeover

2024 saw a number of new names on the market, including the Double Tree by Hilton, replacing Dolmen Hotel, the opening of supermarket and home goods stores Eurospin, ARD, Risparmio casa, French café Ladurée Malta and clothing brand Philipp Plein, among others.

During the year, a new shopping destination, Shoreline Mall, opened its doors amping up competition among the retail and shopping industry in Malta.

As competition increased in various aspects of the Maltese economy, arguably one of the most competitive sectors on the island is the food industry. Whether it’s through restaurants – with the ever growing list of delicious, modern and also Michelin starred restaurants – or through the selling of food supplies in supermarkets, price wars were as intense as the final Gladiator II fight scene.

In a Lidl Malta vs PG Group tit for tat, the two companies engaged in a public marketing battle about their different pricing strategies. However, marketing experts scoffed at the idea, stating that here are more viable ways of marketing one’s products, without having a direct impact on reputation.

The heat moved from supermarkets to court as two companies spat over trademark troubles, opening new perspectives in industrial intellectual property. Te fit-Tazza and Tazza Te were butting heads, despite being entirely different companies. 

This year, FTI Touristik, Europe’s third-largest tour operator, filed for insolvency, which in turn impacted local activity. FTI Touristik is the parent company of FTI Group, which has two Maltese subsidiaries: FTIAS Limited (former Finserv) and Meeting Point Malta. While this did not result in the closure of Labranda, owned by MP Hotels – a subsidiary of FTI Touristik – the bankrupcy of the holding company has had an impact on both local operators and several employees, according to sources that spoke with this newsroom.

In other news, after months of speculation surrounding the potential sale of HSBC Bank Malta, WhosWho.mt broke the story about HSBC Continental Europe’s consideration of selling its majority stake in the Maltese subisdiary. Just last month, APS Bank, through the Malta Stock Exchange, announced its interest in acquiring the 70.03 per cent shareholding, following HSBC Malta’s announcement of an upcoming Extraordinary General Meeting to discuss the transaction.

In the world of development, Malta saw the approval of several large-scale projects including db Group’s project on the former ITS site, which has been confirmed once again after the court rejected a request to retry an appeal.

In May, the Planning Authority (PA) approved the development of a business centre to replace the Savoy Hotel on top of Rue d’Argens, with Exaclo CEO Alex Montanaro telling WhosWho.mt that works on the development would commence immediately.

Additionally, after an ongoing saga, Valletta Luxury Projects’ (an Eden Leisure-Weingard partnership) €78 million bid for the regeneration of Evans Building site in Valletta was recommended for the award.

Most recently, the PA approved plans for a five-star hotel and 150 residential units to replace parts of Fort Chambray, in Gozo.

In the mergers and acquisitions department, Marsamxett Properties Ltd became the registered owner of all ordinary shares in the capital of Tigné Mall plc. The company began acquiring shares in Tigné Mall plc in 2023, amassing over 49.68 per cent of the share capital. By October 2024, the remaining shareholders had accpeted to sell their holding. A squeeze-out process eventually led to the full ownership of Tigné Mall plc, leading to the de-listing from the Malta Stock Exchange.

Another noteworthy sale was GO plc’s acquisition of Klikk. In November, the telecoms company announced that it had completed its acquisition of Klikk Finance plc, the owner of Klikk Limited, the operator of two computer retail outlets servicing both corporate clients and retail customers.

GO had revealed its intention to acquire Klikk Finance in September. By the end of October, GO announced that it had entered into a share purchase agreement.

Furthermore, Hudson Malta Sales Limited completed the merger with local retailer Trilogy Limited, a move that had been in the works since 2022. Similarly, ANCHOVY and NIU formally completed the long-awaited merger to form 9HCapital plc.

In the aviation world, Malta-based SR Technics was acquired by EasyJet. SR Technics is one of Malta’s largest aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) service providers.

Farewell

As the year officially wraps up, WhosWho.mt bids farewell to all individuals who passed away during 2024. Whether unexpected or caused by illness, every loss brings great sadness to companies, communities, family and friends.

This year, Malta lost many iconic individuals who all contributed differently to Malta:

Beloved driving instructor Charlie Sammut, known as ‘il-Mangu’, Vinny Vella Senior from Vinny’s Blue Jackets, Joseph Sammut Malta’s Philharmonic Orchestra founder, Michael Mifsud former CEO of Multigas, Designer Drew Warhurst, the man behind eatery Danny’s name Daniel Debono, Ċikku Attard Ta’ Skutu, Joe Grech the ‘Marija l-Maltija’ singer, actress Polly March and Michael Attard Ltd’s Jean Paul Attard, among many others are just a few who left a legacy behind.