Serving the Teesside Business Community | 9
/NEWS
CORNERSTONE CELEBRATES 10-YEAR
MARK WITH LEEDS EXPANSION
/OPINION
T
Cornerstone directors
eesside IT company
Chris Bibby, John
Cornerstone Business
Storey and Chris Petty
Solutions is celebrating
celebrate the firm’s
10th birthday.
10 years in business with an
expansion into Leeds – whilst
aiming to more than double
turnover to £5m within three
years.
Founded in 2008, in
the middle of the global
recession, Cornerstone is
targeting Leeds on the back
of exceeding a record £2m
turnover and increasing
its workforce to 25 at its
existing offices in Stockton and Newton
“We’re set to open an office in the city
Aycliffe.
centre and recruit some senior staff with
Along with being Official Technology
detailed knowledge of Leeds, so we’re
Partner for Middlesbrough Football Club,
aiming to make a real statement of intent
Cornerstone also boasts long-term contracts
there.
with the likes of Durham Tees Valley Airport,
“We’ve already got our eyes on continuing
Camerons Brewery, Tecnicas Reunidas,
our expansion into Manchester, Birmingham
OSB, Punch Robson Solicitors, Endeavour
and London, but Teesside will remain our
Partnership and many more.
headquarters and main focus, so much so
Now managing director Chris Petty, whose
that we have growth plans that would see
dreams of life as a soldier in the Green
us achieve a £5m turnover in three years,
Howards were ended by injury, is setting
driven mostly by further expansion across
his sights on a new target as Cornerstone
the North-East.”
continue to shoot for the top.
The move into Leeds comes on the back of
“This is an incredibly exciting time for
the recent opening of the firm’s new Newton
Cornerstone,” said Petty. “What better way
Aycliffe office to accompany their established
to celebrate 10 years in business than by
headquarters at Preston Farm, Stockton.
expanding into a major city?
Cornerstone has also launched software to
“We believe we’re the best-known
support clients with their GDPR compliance,
IT brand on Teesside now, but there are
while they boast partnerships with such
thousands more businesses in Leeds that
leading brands as Microsoft, Apple, IBM, HP,
give us huge growth opportunities.
Dell, Lenovo, Vmware, ESET and Cisco.
Suppliers urged to register on Business Compass site
T
he Tees Valley Business Compass team
is encouraging potential suppliers to log
their details on the new website, to help
local businesses grow and create jobs.
Firms who offer services to Tees Valley -
based businesses can now be added to the
‘potential suppliers’ area of the website.
Businesses who are working with
the team of Business Compass growth
consultants, will have easy access to this
information.
The team will also be working to collate
any new supplier opportunities which
businesses in the Tees Valley could benefit
from, giving them easy access to a selection
of new contracts and tender opportunities.
Tees Valley Business Compass, the local
growth hub, is supporting thousands of
businesses across Tees Valley using an
investment of more than £9.5m from the
European Regional Development Fund
(ERDF), secured by Tees Valley Combined
Authority.
It helps local businesses by connecting
them with a growth consultant, who’ll offer
their expertise to determine how best to help
them grow and create jobs.
And a wide range of projects, from
Opportunities - the Tees Valley
Business Compass team.
marketing strategies to research and
development projects, can even attract
funding.
Shak Asghar, growth services manager
for the Tees Valley Business Compass, said:
“The team have put a lot of time and effort
into creating value for businesses through
our new website.
“Not only does it explain the wide range of
ways we can help, from broadband support
to our growth fund, but it lists helpful local
events, a selection of suppliers and even
highlights new contract opportunities.”
To add your businesses information
to the supplier pages, or for more
information on all of the services offered
by the Tees Valley Business Compass, visit
www.teesbusinesscompass.co.uk.
Awards put women
in the spotlight
A
ny business that doesn’t have a
woman on its board will not be
achieving its full potential. I honestly
believe that.
It’s my opinion that those companies are
missing a trick because they are missing
out on a different mind-set and outlook
that women bring to the table.
From my experience, there are no grey
areas with female directors – they see
things in black and white, and can be very
positive in their decision-making.
In fact, women have a different attitude
to working life and business in general.
And yet it seems that women aren’t
receiving the recognition or profile
they deserve, which is why I think the
forthcoming Tees Businesswomen Awards
are a positive step in the right direction.
I know some people might ask why we
should single out businesswomen for the
accolades. But I think it’s important we
give high-achieving women our support to
maximise what they can achieve.
It’s so important we create role
models to inspire future generations of
businesswomen.
There’s some phenomenal female
business talent in our area. People like
Sharon Lane at Tees Components – an
amazing woman who is running her
successful company, leading the business
and speaking out to inspire others.
It’s understandable that many get their
head down and work away, meaning their
efforts and achievements can go under
the radar. But there’s a bigger picture to
be considered – and raising the profile of
yourself and your business is important.
So my message to businesswomen is
to raise your profile and put you and your
business in the spotlight.
Bill Scott
Managing director,
Wilton Engineering
Middlesbrough and Stockton were
collectively listed among the top five
creative clusters in the UK by the ONS
Business Structure Database, with an
average of 65 start-up births per year.
#TalkingUpTeesside