NEWS
Sector expertise - DGRE ’ s nonexecutive director Gary Lumby ( left ), with co-founders Niall Deas and Paul Griffiths ( right ), and trainee surveyor Georgia Atkinson .
THE TIME IS NOW !
Experts join forces to launch real estate firm
PICTURE : CHRIS BOOTH WORDS : SARAH WALKER
According to Niall Deas , Teesside is riding on the crest of a wave following the recent developments around the freeport , with government departments making the move up north to Darlington and the promise of significant regeneration projects across many of our town centres .
With so many exciting developments taking shape across the Tees Valley ’ s five boroughs – not to mention across the wider North-East and Cumbria region where they ’ ll be operating – he and Paul Griffiths decided 2023 was the year to stop talking about launching their own high-quality real estate service for the North .
“ We co-founded DGRE in April this year and it had been something that we had spoken about in the past but never done ,” admits Niall .
“ This year , it very much felt like everything was in the right place . It was the right time and we thought ‘ Why not ?’
“ Teesside has got a lot of good things happening at this moment in time and we feel we have got a valuable service to offer which fits in with that .”
Niall and Paul bring a wealth of experience to DGRE , a growing practice offering property valuation , estate agency , rent review and lease renewal services .
Importantly , having worked in their markets for many years and experiencing a range of approaches from large surveyors and valuation companies
90 | Tees Business through to independents , they are keen to provide a high-quality service that ensures their clients are treated the way they would expect from fellow professionals .
Paul is also the managing director of Marlin Corporate Finance and as a banker and finance broker , has been a frequent user of surveying and valuation companies , which has given him a valuable insight into how to run such a company successfully .
Both Niall and Paul are also keen to bring cutting edge technology to their client offering to enable them to provide consistently high-quality advice .
Niall says : “ Some of the larger practices seem to have been pulling back their offering or contracting , which we feel has really left a market there for smaller practices .
“ We are keen to provide a high standard of service which surpasses what we have experienced ourselves in our work over the years .
“ We want to offer our clients a business that not only performs better but is costeffective because it is in their local area and doesn ’ t have many of the overheads of some bigger firms .”
In terms of the current market for its services , Niall says the Preston Farmbased business can only benefit from the significant regeneration projects taking place across Teesside .
For more information , visit dgre . uk
“ There ’ s a lot of regeneration work and excitement within businesses and everyone I speak to seems to view the freeport as heralding a massive change ,” he says .
“ There is also the Middlesbrough train station development and the area around that .
“ There are big plans for Stockton and there is a lot of building work and redevelopment going on . I believe it ’ s helping to change the character of Teesside and helping to define the area for the next generation .
“ Above all , it ’ s providing a high-quality area where there are jobs , where there is opportunity so in the future , it doesn ’ t suffer from migration of talented people .”
He adds that as “ businesspeople looking for opportunities ” this seemed like the perfect climate in which to set up DGRE .
“ We can cater for different markets and the most exciting market to cater for are those markets where there are developments and positive change is taking place ,” Niall says .
“ It just feels as though everything is aligning properly for Teesside now , which is lovely to see – and we want to be part of that .”
DGRE is already looking to grow and recruit like-minded staff , specifically surveyors .