Durham contractor Esh Construction announced its largest-ever contract after securing a £56m deal to create hundreds of homes on Teesside.
The company will build 296 homes at Grove Hill in Middlesbrough in its third affordable housing partnership with Thirteen. A groundbreaking ceremony has marked the start on site for the scheme which will see two, three and four-bedroom houses and bungalows built to replace homes demolished more than a decade ago.
The scheme is part-funded through Thirteen’s strategic partnership with Homes England and with a grant of £2.8m from the Government’s Brownfield Housing Fund. Tees Valley Combined Authority is responsible for approving the money from the Brownfield Housing Fund.
Esh announced two further schemes in Middlesbrough for Thirteen, worth £42m, earlier this year in which 250 affordable homes for rent will be created at sites known as Kedward Avenue in Brambles Farm and Union Village in Gresham. Esh’s chief executive Andy Radcliffe said: “This scheme represents the largest affordable housing development we have secured.
Newcastle life sciences firm LightOx said it had made new breakthroughs in the treatment of early-stage mouth cancers on the back of an Innovate UK funding programme.
Based in Newcastle city centre, LightOx uses technologies to develop light-activated treatment that can improve outcomes for patients and reduce the need for surgery. As well as a drug development arm, the company has a research tools business that sells products for research purposes.
With funding from Analysis for Innovators (A4I), a grant funding programme run by Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, the company is developing new light-activated chemotherapy for the treatment of early-stage oral cancer. It is the first of its kind in the UK and is currently completing pre-clinical testing.
The company’s new class of light-activated chemotherapy should be administered by dentists or trained clinicians, who will apply a gel to the affected area and activate the drug with light. LightOx directors say the ground-breaking treatment is quick, simple and involves fewer side effects than surgery.
They say the non-invasive treatment also significantly improves the overall patient experience, and has the potential to revolutionise light-based therapeutic markets globally.
It lacked the research and development expertise to explore its potential further, and with help from A4I and its large network of partner organisations, the firm worked with Oxford-based Central Laser Facility (CLF), an institution of the Science and Technology Facilities Council, which gave the LightOx team access to its expertise and an unparalleled range of laser technology.
Popular Newcastle bakery FAB Bakery announced expansion plans after acquiring a second shop in a Newcastle suburb.
Sourdough and croissant connoisseur FAB Bakery has become part of the community since opening in Fenham, a move triggered when the Covid lockdowns led to the company’s wholesale customers – a long list of upmarket restaurants and cafes – closing their doors for months on end.
Owner Shynara Bakisheva’s switch in business strategy was the hospitality trade’s loss but the Fenham community’s gain, with lengthy queues forming outside the shop on a regular basis for the firm’s freshly-made produce. Demand for its focaccia, sourdough loaves, ancient grains breads and patisserie treats – including its almond croissants which TV and newspaper food critic Grace Dent says is "maybe the North East’s greatest" – has seen FAB’s original team of three grow to 12, and more jobs will now be created as the bakery expands.
Residents in Gosforth can look forward to the bakery’s signature bakes when it opens soon on Ashburton Road, where Shynara is excited, and a little apprehensive, to be joining a parade of existing independent businesses. The artisan bread maker, who worked for Fenwick and at the Vallum food hub in the Tyne Valley before setting up her own business in 2017, collected the keys this week and is starting work soon on the fit-out, with a planned opening within weeks.
Shynara said: “Everyone has been saying ‘please tell us you’re staying in Fenham’, and of course we are. This shop is happening because of Fenham, which will be the flagship shop. I chose this site because the premises are quite sweet and quirky, and I’ve always liked that little street, it feels like a small community within a big city. It’s also where my friend Charlotte’s Butchery is, a real nice greengrocers and other independent businesses like an art school, interiors and clothing. I count myself really lucky to have this opportunity to be part of the community."
Specialist HR consultancy Tailored Thinking revealed how it is looking to build a bigger team of its own with the help of a five-figure investment.
The Durham-based business, which helps companies attract, motivate and retain people, has worked with regional fund management firm NEL Fund Managers to obtain the undisclosed investment, which is being used to support the wider roll-out of its services and industry targeted marketing campaigns. Two new jobs are expected to be created in the first instance, with more to follow as the business works towards its target of increasing its annual turnover by 40%.
Founded six years ago by Rob Baker, the business works with the likes of Virgin Money, Royal Bank of Scotland, PWC, Durham University and Bernicia, providing psychology, well-being and HR consultancy services to clients around the world. It helps people to personalise their working lives and align their roles with their strengths, skills and interests though a concept it calls ‘jobcrafting’.
It recently ran its first jobcrafting online training seminar, with delegates from as far afield as the US, New Zealand and Europe, and is planning further follow-up events for later in the year.
Two North East property companies sealed finance deals worth a combined £24.5m with finance group Shawbrook.
Newcastle investment fund Develop North PLC, which provides loans to property developers in the North of England and Scotland, has renewed a £6.5m debt facility from Shawbrook for a further two years. The fund, which is managed by wealth managers Tier One Capital Ltd, will use the facility to continue its support for residential and commercial property developments.
It said the funding represents Shawbrook’s ongoing backing for its strategy to support the levelling up of the North through alternative lending to deliver high quality property schemes. Since its launch in 2017, the London Stock Exchange-listed Develop North fund has supported the development of 33 residential and commercial projects, with a combined value of £70.3m and an estimated £184m Gross Development Value (GDV).
Meanwhile in Durham, Three Tuns Development Ltd – a joint venture between professional property developers Simon Williams and Andrew Ward – has secured £18m funding with backing from Shawbrook.
The company acquired historic hotel the Three Tuns, which had served as student accommodation for Durham University students after it was bought from former owners Swallow Hotels, back in 2016. Since then, the new owners owners have redeveloped the building to boost the number of rooms for students, renovating it while also adding three new, purpose-built student accommodation blocks within the hotel grounds.
Shawbrook has facilitated an £18m funding package which includes a £10m development exit loan and £8m capital raise for future investment plans. The deal was completed in partnership with Franklin Commercial Finance, part of Synergy Commercial Finance.
Tyneside law firm MDL Holdings Limited is poised for growth following a management buyout. McDaniels Law was established in Newcastle in 2005 by Niall and Rozanna Head-Rapson and has since expanded into the Northern Centre in Gateshead, as well as having an office in Cumbria. The business specialises in intellectual property law, acting on behalf of clients across the UK and internationally, and is the only Chambers ‘Band 1’ rated intellectual property practice in the North East.
Managing director Kelly Hudson, who had been at McDaniels Law since August 2008, has bought the practice for an undisclosed sum. Newcastle based RSM UK has advised the law practice on the deal.
Ms Hudson, along with the management team and all existing employees, will continue to run the firm’s existing operations under the newly created company called MDL Holdings Limited. The buyout will support the firm’s long-term growth ambitions.
