Darlington-based My Property Box swooped for Acorn Properties and KIS Lettings amid moves to further strengthen its presence in Tyneside, Wearside and Northumberland.
Acorn Properties is a significant player in the lettings market, advertising more than 800 properties a year, including houses of multiple occupation. All 14 staff will be retained alongside its office in Jesmond, which serves an area from Durham to Northumberland.
KIS Lettings has also been acquired and its 130-strong portfolio of properties across areas including South Shields, North Shields, Newcastle, and Sunderland, has been transferred to My Property Box’s sister company, Groves Residential, based in Jesmond. KIS Lettings, which previously operated branches in Sunderland, North Shields and Welwyn Garden City, was founded by property entrepreneur Ajay Jagota, who sold the business to launch a new venture offering a specialist tenancy compliance service.
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Ben Quaintrell, founder and managing director, said: “Both acquisitions highlight the significant growth trajectory of this business while further strengthening our position across Tyneside, Wearside, north Durham and Northumberland. Last year’s deal involving Groves Residential, combined with that of Acorn Properties, represents an extensive expansion into both the professional, executive and student lettings market, as well as residential sales within the North East of England."
Newcastle health tech firm QuantuMDx has sealed a significant deal with an Italian firm to distribute its portable Covid, flu and respiratory disease testing system in the UK and France.
Earlier this year, the Newcastle company - which last year secured £15m venture capital investment - revealed its latest Q-POC respiratory panel test which can also detect Covid and other infectious diseases. The team had developed a new test to include the most up to date information on sequences of SARS-CoV-2, Flu A and Flu B & RSV viruses. Respiratory panel tests detect pathogens in the lungs, nose and throat.
Now the diagnostic specialist has announced an agreement which will see Florence-based Menarini market, sell and service Q-POC, QuantuMDx’s SARS- CoV-2 assay and its new test which the company launched in June. The firm said the deal, agreed for an undisclosed value, marks a significant commercial step for QuantuMDx. It said it will ramp up commercial sales of the platform with the mission to limit the fast spread of Covid and other respiratory diseases.
Norwegian company Wastefront AS, which is building a waste tyre recycling plant in Sunderland, announced a €2m grant as part of a collaboration with a Swedish engineering company.
Wastefront AS was co-founded in Oslo three years ago by former Sunderland University student Christian A. Hvamstad, on a mission to create useful commodities for manufacturing industries from old tyres. The innovative company announced plans to open it first plant at Port of Sunderland two years ago, with the construction stage expected to generate around 100 jobs and, once fully up and running in 2025, a further 30 full-time members of staff needed to run the site.
Now – six months after announcing an agreement with Gateway Resources which guarantees supply of end-of-life-tyres – the firm has announced a collaboration with Swedish chemical firm Hulteberg Chemistry & Engineering AB. The firms will work together on oil purification project Hyfuel, which purifies pyrolysis oil – the oil extracted from the old tyres.
Automotive retail group Vertu continued its growth with the acquisition of a motorbike dealership.
The Gateshead-based firm has announced the £4.2m acquisition of two BMW Motorrad outlets in Yorkshire, taking its estate of motorcycle dealerships to six. The sites bought from the Saltaire Motor Company in Shipley and Rotherham, which have traded under the Allan Jefferies name, will be rebranded to trade as Vertu. Vertu is one of the country’s largest car retailers with a network of 164 sales and aftersales sites around the UK.
It said the new businesses would initially make a loss due to the seasonality of motorbike sales, but was expected to be earnings enhancing in its first full year. The deal makes Vertu the brand’s largest operator in the UK.
Robert Forrester, CEO of Vertu Motors, said: “Our business is performing strongly and the addition of two further BMW Motorrad outlets will be accretive both financially and strategically to the group. Vertu becomes the largest partner in the UK for BMW Motorrad.”
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