Aycliffe Today Business Aycliffe Today Business Issue 39 | Page 7

The magazine for Aycliffe Business Park | 7
/NEWS
WHY
INTERNATIONAL
WOMEN’S DAY IS
SO IMPORTANT
Professor Jane Turner OBE DL,
pro vice-chancellor (enterprise and
business engagement) and gender
champion at Teesside University,
explains why International Women’s
Day is so crucial to the North-East…
Tony Cullen, investment executive at
FW Capital (right) with Craig Peterson.
Aycliffe firm builds luxury home
development with £1m funding
A
Newton Aycliffe-based firm is building
a development of luxury family homes
thanks to funding.
Homes by Carlton secured a £1m loan
from FW Capital, which manages the
North East Property Fund, to finance the
construction of nine family homes.
The development of the three and four-
bedroom homes will create eight jobs and
safeguard jobs in the local supply chain.
And the first phase of the development
is being built on the Cathedral Gates
development in Chilton.
This is the fourth project to benefit from
the £10m North East Property Fund and the
first in County Durham, although two further
schemes are in the pipeline and expected to
complete in Spring 2019.
Homes by Carlton is an award-winning
housebuilder and property developer based
on Aycliffe Business Park.
O
The firm, which is run by brothers Craig
and Norman Peterson, is known for the high-
quality and prestige of its developments.
The North East Property Fund was
established with the aim of supporting
the development of small-scale property
schemes and is backed by Santander and
the North East Local Enterprise Partnership
(LEP).
It offers loans from £250,000 up to
£1m for residential and non-speculative
commercial developments in Tyne and Wear,
Northumberland and County Durham.
The fund can provide up to 100% of build
costs for suitable schemes with repayment
terms available up to two years.
Tony Cullen, investment executive at FW
Capital, said: “This is the first scheme the
North East Property Fund has supported in
County Durham and I’m sure these beautiful
family homes will prove popular.”
IT firm expands to North-West
ne of the region’s leading IT firms has
announced a major expansion with
the acquisition of another company.
razorblue, which looks after several clients
on Aycliffe Business Park, has revealed its
move to the North-West region following
the acquisition of the J-Media IT Managed
Services business from Manchester-based
CMAP Group for an undisclosed sum.
Founded in 2006 by CEO Dan Kitchen,
razorblue has grown from just two
employees to over 80, having recently
expanded its Tees offices at Wynyard Park.
“We’re excited to have expanded our
business into Manchester,” he said.
“Our roots are in the North of England,
and with our client base located throughout
the UK, it makes sense to acquire a business
who are already doing what we do, but in a
different geographic location.
“We’ve grown our team of trusted experts
through this acquisition and we’re confident
that this addition to the group will enable us
to not only continue to serve the existing
clients of both razorblue and J-Media IT
If we look at the statistics, according
to the World Economic Forum, to
get true gender equality in terms of
politics, education, health and the
workplace, it’s going to take over 200
years if we carry on the pace we’re
moving at now – and that’s simply not
acceptable.
So to bring women together, across
the world, just to celebrate the
achievements of women, but also to
plan what we can do together, working
with men and women, is so important
– because we have to work together
to change that trajectory.
As gender champion for the university,
I think it’s important we play a
convening role in this.
During this year’s International
Women’s Day, we reached out to the
next generation of women. We had
just over 100 15 to 18-year-olds and
giving them the opportunity to hear
from business leaders.
They enjoyed workshops around
resilience, creativity, entrepreneurship
and finding their voice – and they
heard from young women under 25
about their career paths.
It was a really successful and
empowering event at Teesside
University and the young women
hopefully left here more confident and
more informed about their futures.
Later this year, we’ll also be supporting
the second Tees Businesswomen
Awards, which are vital, particularly
for this region, because we have got
some catching up to do in terms of
balance, transparency, and visibility of
women in this region.
razorblue directors (left to right): David Raper, Mark
Wilkinson, Rachel Atkinson, Jonathan Anderson
and Dan Kitchen.
Managed Services, but also new businesses
across the country.”
The acquisition comes at an exciting time,
following a 38% increase in turnover in 2018.
With offices in Wynyard, Catterick, Leeds,
London and now Manchester, razorblue
provides managed IT services, cloud,
connectivity and business software for a
wide range of SMEs, business parks and
public sector organisations throughout the
UK.
The last awards identified over 100
women that were doing some amazing
things, largely under the radar, so it
brought about that visibility.
It’s so important in helping to drive
traction and momentum for women
in this region, to help them walk a bit
taller and identify female role models
for our younger generation.
Jane Turner OBE
Pro vice chancellor (enterprise and
business engagement) and gender
champion, Teesside University