Ambitious Lynn turns space into a story of success

Dec 6 2007 By The Journal

AS a 17-year-old working in a Newcastle department store, Lynn Gate would eye the managers in their smart suits and imagine wearing the same herself one day.

She wasn’t looking years ahead, however, or thinking about working her way up in the shop.

She planned to be a young entrepreneur in charge of her own business.

She said: “I was very ambitious and always wanted to do something for myself; to be in control of my own destiny.

“It wasn’t about wanting to tell other people what to do but neither did I want to be at someone else’s beck and call.

“In companies, people hide behind each other and are scared to own up to things. I never felt like that. I knew I had the capability to take responsibility for my own actions.”

After selling property on the south bank of the Tyne at Gateshead to a developer in 2004, then selling her storage business in Dunston in 2006, she certainly has succeeded.

But while the money has bought her a very nice lifestyle as the managing director of The Storage Company, The Office Company, LG Developments, it’s her passion to help other people just starting out in business that really drives the businesses and the staff who work for Lynn.

In 1986 Lynn was offered a job with Birmingham-based manufacturer of shop-fittings to manage its new retail outlet on Scotswood Road, Newcastle.

When a director left nine months later, Lynn was given the opportunity to buy the business.

“By 1987 all I had was the equity in my house” she explains.

Showing foresight beyond her years, she managed to borrow from the NatWest.

Under her ownership, the business went from strength to strength, increasing in turnover in the first year.

With a showroom on the ground floor and office to the first and second floors, friends and contacts soon asked Lynn if they could rent space from her.

She said: “I was naive really. I didn’t bother with leases or license arrangements but from there it grew and soon the first and second floors were full.

“I had a great relationship with the tenants – in fact some of them are still there.”

Lynn bought the premises and within three months had sold it for a substantial profit.

Lynn moved into new premises and felt she was moving on only to find herself in the middle of a divorce with a 18-month old daughter.

The next five years were to be an incredible journey for Lynn.

She explains that she now wonders how she coped.

Lynn had to start all over again when a building on South Shore Road became available.

She said: “At 30,000sq ft it was 10 times the size of our previous building, but there had always been talk of the Baltic being developed and the whole area being regenerated.

“It was a huge gamble but I’ve learned to look for an opportunity in every event that happens, even the negative ones.”

Lynn decided to turn the warehouse into flexible warehouse space.

She said: “After signing two large companies requiring storage I realised that there must be other people, not just big companies, looking for space; people who didn’t want to commit to long leases or to pay agent’s fees.

“They just needed somewhere to move into to get their business going, whether it was warehousing or office space.

“I knew what it was like for them because I’d been there myself.

“The great thing about it was that the big companies who were paying large amounts were helping to subsidise the smaller businesses to get off the ground.”

In 2002 the South Shore Road premises were sold and that summer Lynn spotted her next property at Dunston.

She bought the 20,000sq ft building and one-and-a-half acres of development land.

During the next four years Lynn had an eclectic range of tenants from large companies such as TSG, Top Shop, ICI Paints, Coca-Cola and Gateshead Council, to domestic customers storing furniture between house moves and small businesses taking office space.

All Lynn asked the small businesses for was a month’s rent in advance and a month’s notice to quit.

She explained: “My view is ‘why make it complicated?’

“Companies that start with between one and five employees are the backbone of this country but they are overlooked every single time and they are stifled with red tape.”

In 2006 Lynn acquired the former Metro Radio site in Swalwell, Gateshead, with the mammoth task of converting the run-down studios into functional offices.

She said: “We already had a big job to do to get the place habitable and then we had a flood from the second floor over a bank holiday weekend which soaked the place from top to bottom.

“I was on holiday at the time and had to instruct my new PA over the telephone on how to deal with matters.

“Being able to turn a negative into a great opportunity the flood actually improved our situation; we became more driven to have the place finished by Christmas with the aim of putting tenants in by January 2007; however, we had created a waiting list by October 2006.”

In December 2006, with the second floor still being worked on, tenants began to occupy the space.

She said: “It was a work in progress; all of the tenants who came in knew we were still working on the upper floor, but I think they enjoyed being part of the refurbishment.

“Twelve months on and those tenants are still here so we must be doing something right.

“We are continuing to house a mix of companies, from larger companies like Anchor Staying Put to smaller companies such as Moulin Music, owned by an ex-Metro Radio employee who just couldn’t resist coming back!”

Throughout her amazing journey Lynn has maintained a glowing reputation and continues to encourage and advise younger entrepreneurs through the Princes’ Trust.

Lynn is adamant that none of her career low points are on account of her being ‘a woman in business’; in fact Lynn believes being a women has only helped her in businesses.

She explained: “Women genetically are able to multi-task and therefore are able to add many dimension to their lives, therefore being a woman should be no excuse to not having a successful career or business.

“There are always many challenges in life to face and that’s what makes it so exciting.”

She added: “I manage to be a woman, a wife, a mother and still have several very successful businesses. If I can, other women can. It is all about finding the balance.”