Creating a new digital lease of life

Jun 19 2009 by Andrew Mernin, The Journal

OFFICES which have been derelict on Newcastle’s Quayside for close to a decade are to undergo a £1m transformation into a hub for digital and creative businesses.

Newcastle-based new media firm Enigma Interactive has bought three storeys of disused offices in the Mansion House Chambers building above the now-closed Blue nightclub – formerly the home of Julies nightspot.

The company will use half of the 9,000 sq ft space for its own staff and then plans to develop a creative hub by sub-letting the rest of the floor-space to fellow North East digital business.

As part of its £1m refurbishment plans, Enigma will also build a glass atrium on the roof of the property, creating more space for its digital tenants.

The company will make the move in October, having outgrown its 2,000 sq ft headquarters on Newcastle’s Pink Lane.

The move comes as part of its expansion plans on the back of a series of contracts with major firms such as EMI, ITV and North East clothing company Barbour.

The firm, which employs around 25 people, is also hoping to grow its workforce through a new product which allows would-be internet entrepreneurs to create their own websites. Managing director Steve Grainger said: “We have been looking around for the site for years because we wanted to create a proper headquarters that gives us a better market position to show off what we do.”

The property on The Close, which has been empty for around eight years, was bought for an undisclosed sum.

Enigma’s move could prove a much-needed boost to the recession-hit Quayside which now has several empty properties where well-known venues such as Julies and the Baja Beach Club once stood.