Durham news
Discovering Durham gives producers a route to market
NEL Fund Managers investment executive Jonathan Armitage ( left ) with Exploration & Testing Associates founder Ken Marsh .
An organisation which champions local food , drink and arts and crafts producers is giving dozens of micro-brands a route to market , as it prepares to mark its second birthday .
Discovering Durham – which is run by passionate entrepreneurs Liza Johnson of The Tea Enthusiasts , Dawn Wilson of The Glass Raven and Matty Booth , who founded the Working Hand Brewery – supports over 70 producers from across the County Durham area who are looking to increase awareness of their products .
Through its shop at Prince Bishop ’ s Place in Durham city centre , the Community Interest Company ( CIC ) gives local traders an outlet for them to sell their goods .
There are dozens of products all made in and around County Durham found within the shop including from brands including Screaming Chimp , the Canny Candy Gadgies , Wiga Wagga , Durham Coffee , Quaker Distillery and Weardale Cheese .
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DURHAM FIRM ’ S UNI CONTRACT
Firms based in Durham and Newcastle will help create a £ 5m postgraduate student ‘ hub ’ at Teesside University .
Durham-based architectural practice Howarth Litchfield has been appointed architect for the new development , while Summers- Inman , whose head office is in Newcastle , will be quantity surveyor and contract administrator .
Under the scheme , the existing , two storey Buttery building is to be transformed into the new hub , providing an innovative space exclusively for postgraduate students and researchers to study , collaborate and socialise on campus .
£ 2M AMBITION
Exploration and testing group gets third fund investment
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market-leading ground investigation and materials testing business is aiming to break through the £ 2m turnover barrier in 2022 with the help of a third investment from the North East Growth Capital Fund Supported by the European Regional Development Fund .
Exploration & Testing Associates ( ETA ) operates a state-of-the-art laboratory at its Durham headquarters that supports its materials testing service and ground investigation service , which operates from offices in Durham , Coventry and Altrincham .
Having originally aimed to secure around £ 1.4m in revenue in 2021 , it is expecting to actually record a turnover of more than £ 1.6m and has doubled its workforce to 30 people since the start of last year .
The ETA management team has previously worked with regional fund management firm NEL Fund Managers to secure two investments from the Growth Capital Fund to help support its growth ambitions .
FUNDING FOR NEW HOMES
New family homes will be built in County Durham , thanks to a £ 1m investment .
Local developer Bell Blue will use the funding – from FW Capital , which manages the North East Property Fund ( NEPF ) – to build five new homes on the site of a former equestrian centre in Hargill Road , Howdenle-Wear .
The four-bedroom detached properties are in an idyllic countryside location and will be finished using the highest quality materials . Bell Blue already has reservations on two of the five homes in the development .
And it has now gone back to NEL for a further £ 50,000 Growth Capital Fund investment , which will be used to bring in additional equipment and support the business ’ s ongoing recruitment needs .
More North-East jobs are expected to be created through ETA ’ s plans to provide ground investigation services at the Bowburn site , while it is also currently looking at options for opening a fourth UK office , this time in South-East England .
ETA predominantly works with clients in the construction and development sectors and is aiming to eventually establish a UKwide network of regional offices which offer ground investigation , on-site and laboratory materials testing , along with geotechnical and geo-environmental advice and reporting .
It was founded in 2019 by chairman Ken Marsh , who has more than three decades ’ experience of working in the ground investigation industry and has been central to the growth and success of several of the sector ’ s best-known names .
Bell Blue is a property development business based in South-West Durham , focused on small developments of three to 10 units .