A BUILDING consultancy has created jobs after working on a number of refurbishment schemes in its first year in business.

Newcastle-based Silverstone Building Consultancy said it hoped to create more jobs after recruiting two members of staff, taking its small team up to five.

The firm, which was set up in 0ctober 2009, has already established a foothold in the region’s construction market after overseeing a number of office refurbishment contracts across the country.

These include acting as project manager on the £2.4m refurbishment of a four-storey office block in London for petroleum company Unipec, as well as working with the Big Lottery Fund in Newcastle to refurbish its site at St James’ Gate.

The firm said that it was seeing a surge in refurbishment work as companies look to improve their existing sites rather than invest in new facilities.

The company said that it had hit its first year sales target and hopes to grow this year-on-year with the help of its small but experienced workforce, with the firm launched by Ben Hunter, former head of building consultancy at property consultancy James Barr, and Richard Farrey a former partner at consultant King Sturge.

Farrey said: “The business specialises in providing purely building surveying and project management services.

“This puts us in a pretty unique position in the North East market place and it is this non-conflicted commercial service that has attracted a number of key clients.