TYNE and Wear Development Company – one of the area’s leading business support organisations – is continuing to drive economic growth in Tyne and Wear after more than 25 years of service.

Offering help with everything from property, advice on finance, training, recruitment and labour availability through to strategic business advice, it remains the first port of call for growing businesses needing a helping hand.

The company’s track record stretches back to 1986 when it was formed to encourage inward investment and to provide business and aftercare support for local companies.

It has been involved in many of the region’s biggest investment projects since then, working alongside partner organisations to support names like Convergys and Turbo Power Systems to create new jobs and invest in the area.

Over a quarter of a century on, it is still providing free, independent and confidential advice to investors big and small.

Its success is underlined by the sheer variety of local companies it has worked with since the turn of the year – everything from contact centres and healthcare industries to automotive, engineering and manufacturing companies.

Paul Buie, manager of Tyne and Wear Development Company, said: “We’re here to help anyone with an investment project whatever support is required. For some companies this is a quick search on our property database, while other projects are more complex requiring long-term support.

“The range of companies we work with today is also varied and reflects how the regional economy has changed in recent times.

“Traditional engineering and manufacturing businesses are still on our radar, but we’re also working with newer knowledge-based industries and promoting business opportunities at the huge number of top-class business parks we have in Tyne and Wear.”

One of the companies it has worked with this year is growing healthcare specialist Neuropartners. Alongside Gateshead Council, it helped this provider of bespoke support services for people living with a range of specialist conditions and disabilities to relocate to a new site on Team Valley, creating 20 jobs in the process and safeguarding hundreds more. Tyne and Wear Development Company worked in conjunction with the council to offer advice on the relocation process and sources of funding to assist growth plans.

Paul adds: “We work closely with other organisations and partners around the region to leverage additional support for businesses and offer real added value to our clients.”

This partnership approach – and willingness to go the extra mile – has seen Tyne and Wear attract some of the UK’s biggest inward investment projects in the last couple of years. Several high-profile campaigns, fronted by Tyne and Wear Development Company, have attracted names like Tesco Bank, Balfour Beatty, Ebiquity and the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) to Tyne and Wear and created hundreds of jobs in the process.

Tesco Bank has opened a contact centre at Quorum Business Park and will create over 1,000 jobs at its new headquarters. Construction giant Balfour Beatty also chose to locate a major service centre on Tyneside creating over 200 jobs. Ebiquity, a leading media monitoring company, now has its European headquarters here, while the MMO chose Newcastle as its base following a nationwide search.

Paul added: “These are big projects and we’re delighted to have been involved in them. With many of these decisions we were in direct competition with other areas of the UK, so it was essential for us to promote the region and present Tyne and Wear’s case as the best location in order to succeed.

“Thanks to the specialist support and assistance we can provide along with the natural assets, infrastructure and facilities we have in the region, we’re fortunate to be able to offer such an attractive package to investors.”

Tyne and Wear Development Company works on behalf of Tyne and Wear’s local authorities and is funded by its own portfolio of commercial property.

For more information about support available and investment opportunities in the region, visit www.tyne-wear.co.uk  or telephone 0191 516 9099.