/ NEWS The magazine for Aycliffe Business Park | 7
Ebac expands to Midlands with key appointment
Newton Aycliffe manufacturer Ebac has recruited an experienced sales professional to support the expansion of its washing machine sales into the Midlands .
With more than 30 years industry experience , most recently at Hotpoint where he worked for over a decade , Richard Foster has joined the Ebac team as sales development manager .
During his career he has established a real drive and vision for the UK white goods market and as a member of the Ebac team , he sees the brand firmly placed at the centre of that vision , as a future industry leader .
Foster is responsible for the Midlands region , an area in which he already has excellent relationships with many of the local retailers , attained during his career .
His objective is to work with the independent retailers to be able to provide the market with the only British-made washing machines , and the company ’ s wellestablished dehumidifiers .
Foster is confident that he can work alongside the company to help it achieve continued success .
“ This is a really exciting opportunity to work with a new name in the white goods industry , and help develop the business into a household name ,” he said .
“ One which will not only be linked to quality dehumidifiers , but also safe , reliable British made washing machines ”.
Ebac became the first company in more than two decades to bring back the manufacture of British made washing machines last year .
The County Durham-based company invested £ 7m in the development of the venture , with the new models comprising revolutionary dual fill technology , as an alternative to traditional cold fill machines , which will lower energy bills through shorter wash times . Ebac is also offering 10 year parts and labour warranties on selected washing machines .
Aycliffe firm secures £ 1.1m private equity investment
A Newton Aycliffe business has secured more than a million pounds ’ worth of investment from a major private equity firm .
Growth Capital Ventures ( GCV ) has received a £ 1.1m boost from Maven Capital Partners , a prominent UK private equity house , and worked alongside another local business , Stockton-based Endeavour Partnership , to complete the deal .
GCV is a leading developer and operator of online co-investment platforms . Their first platform , GrowthFunders , allows everyday investors to invest alongside professional investors and venture capital funds , backing the next generation of high growth British businesses .
In addition , GCV now also plans to launch a new ‘ Peer to Peer ’ ( P2P ) lending platform that will allow investors to invest in asset backed property and clean energy opportunities .
Endeavour Partnership advised GCV on various legal aspects of the investment .
Martin McKinnell , associate at Endeavour Partnership , said : “ This was a detailed and fast-moving deal with varying aspects .
“ We advised on a number of elements including due diligence enquiries raised by Maven , reviewing and amending transactional documents with regards to the investment , overseeing the investment process and dealing with the administrative aspects of implementing the investment both in terms of pre-completion changes to GCV and implementation of the investment structure .”
BUSINESS BRIEFS
BETTER HEALTH AT WORK
Business gathered for the County Durham Better Health at Work Awards ceremony , held at Ramside Hall Hotel near Durham .
A total of 50 businesses ( small , medium and large ) attended the ceremony organised by Newton Aycliffe-based the Pioneering Care Partnership ( PCP ), which manages the County Durham sub-region of the North East Better Health at Work Award .
The awards were officially opened by Carol Gaskarth , PCP ’ s chief executive , who also picked up an award , on behalf of local charity PCP , for Continuing Excellence .
“ I was delighted to open the fabulous and unique awards ceremony , celebrating the hard work and dedication of local businesses and Healthy Living Pharmacies ,” she said .
6,000 ‘ NEW JOBS IN NORTH-EAST ’
Businesses investing in the North East will create over 6,000 jobs in the next three years , according to statistics unveiled by Invest North East England this morning .
On behalf of the region ’ s seven local authorities and the North East Local Enterprise Partnership ( LEP ), figures show 84 inward investments in the North East between April 2016 – March 2017 by companies creating a new base or expanding existing operations .
With the IT , automotive , manufacturing , energy and financial sectors booming over the past year , the region has enjoyed a total of 84 inward investment projects during the period , with 64 of these investments from foreign companies . The region ’ s biggest overseas investor continues to be the USA .
NEW APPOINTMENT
Newtonian Sharon Hutchinson has been appointed as the new vice chair of one of the region ’ s leading business networking organisations .
Sharon , who is practice manager at Stockton-based law firm Endeavour Partnership , was selected for the role at Darlington Business Club by the club ’ s chair thanks to her varied experience across fields including SME practice , the legal sector and business management .
In her new role , Sharon will be focussing on increasing membership and events even further at the popular Darlington Business Club , which was established in the 1980s and has grown to be the largest business network in and around the Darlington area with more than 120 members .
AYCLIFFE TODAY BUSINESS
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