The experts in helping your business move

Oct 25 2007 by The Journal

BUSINESS investors in Tyne and Wear can call on the support of the region’s premier business development agency to help them with their growth plans.

Tyne and Wear Development Company provides support tailored to the needs of growing businesses. Acting as the first port of call, the agency offers advice to all businesses with a mobile investment project, whether it’s relocating to the region; moving to bigger premises or creating new jobs.

Bringing over 20 years’ experience to the task, it has the expertise, contacts and resources to provide comprehensive support.

Advice is provided on a free and confidential basis and can include guidance on the availability of office and industrial sites; where to go for grants and financial assistance; background information on Tyne and Wear, plus information on recruitment and training.

The company’s team of skilled officers work to help businesses find their perfect property, matching premises to their needs. Having identified potential premises, they will also conduct site visits as part of the service. It was this support that was crucial to a data recovery firm when it was looking to expand earlier this year.

Canadian-owned CBL, which specialises in data recovery from media including hard drives, flash cards, tapes, laptops and disks, wanted to move to bigger premises following a period of sustained growth.

Keen to remain close to its existing base in North Tyneside, CBL was quick to utilise Tyne and Wear Development Company’s property search facility. The company has now moved into a new 2,220 sq ft development at the Hedley Court development on Orion Business Park, North Tyneside, just round the corner from its old home.

CBL’s general manager, Frank Priest, said: “Our new premises give us the room we need to grow and the facilities with which to do it. We’re appreciative of the support we had from Tyne and Wear Development Company. As soon as we contacted them, they immediately put the wheels in motion to help us find a new base.” Tyneside’s new Marine Design Centre is another project to have benefited. The £2.3m centre is based close to Newcastle’s Central Station and is the first centre of its kind in the country, acting as a focal point for the region’s ship design industry.

Tyne and Wear Development Company worked closely with Trevor Harrison, the managing director of centre operators Northern Defence Industries (NDI), to secure suitable premises.

The exciting development, also backed by funding of £1.5m from One NorthEast, will pool talent from the ship design industry in a bid to win naval and commercial projects. It is expected the centre will create a significant number of new jobs and add anything up to £100m to the marine and defence industry by 2016.

Paul Buie, manager of Tyne and Wear Development Company, said: “Our role is to provide access to all the support and services investors need in one place, making the region a more attractive proposition.”

For more information about investment opportunities in the region and the support available from Tyne and Wear Development Company, contact (0191) 516-9099 or visit www.tyne-wear.co.uk