Serving the Teesside Business Community | 7
/NEWS
Palace awards for
proud Teessiders
BUSINESS BITES
RAMSDENS IN £1.5M ACQUISITION
P
roud Teessiders Bill Scott and Bob
Cuffe were given their New Year
honours during a presentation at
Buckingham Palace.
Former Trinity Mirror regional managing
director Bob, who was appointed a
non-executive director of Tees Business
publishers Resolution Media and Publishing
last year, was recognised for his services
to business and economic development on
Teesside.
He received an MBE for services to the
economy, and Wilton Engineering boss
Bill received an OBE for services to the
engineering and offshore wind sector and to
the Teesside community, and both received
their honours from Prince Charles.
“The conversation with Prince Charles
was surreal,” said Bob, who has more than
30 years’ experience in publishing.
“He spoke with affection about Teesside
and I invited him on all our behalf to visit
whenever he wanted.”
Bob is now working for a small number
of local firms in similar consultancy roles,
including Resolution, Darlington Building
Society (as vice chair), Jacksons Law and
Recognition PR.
Bob, from Stokesley, attended the
ceremony with his wife Linda and two of
his sons Christopher and Kieran. He is also
dad to Liam.
Meanwhile, in a presentation at
Buckingham Palace earlier in the year,
businessman and charity volunteer Paul
Griffiths was also awarded an MBE.
D
Honours – Teessiders Bill Scott OBE
and Bob Cuffe MBE with their awards
outside Buckingham Palace.
Paul, the chairman of Middlesbrough
firm Industrial Marine Hydraulics, also
received his honour from HRH the Prince
of Wales, for services to engineering and
apprenticeships on Teesside.
Paul told Tees Business he was
“privileged” to be at the Palace “with so
many deserving people”.
“A standout for me were the Queen’s
Award for Gallantry and the Queen’s Police
Award to a young WPC who was first
responder to the Manchester Arena attack,”
said Paul.
“It was also very special for the Prince
of Wales to recognise the impact of the
engineering industry on Teesside, the loss
of steelmaking and the quality of training.
He is very well informed.”
Paul added that receiving his MBE had
been one of the proudest occasions in his
life alongside meeting his wife Teresa and
“her amazing, loving family, my supportive
family and birth of my two amazing children”.
See Michael McGeary’s feature interview
with our cover star Bill Scott on pages
19-21.
ANONYMOUS DONOR’S £250K GIFT
onations by a “mystery” Teesside
business owner have now topped
more than £250,000 following
his latest donation for the most
disadvantaged families and charities.
The donations have been made to
charitable movement Teesside Philanthropic
Foundation by a wealthy but big-hearted
business leader who wishes to remain
anonymous.
And, thanks to the increasing success of
his Teesside business, the entrepreneur’s
donations are getting bigger every year.
After donating £16,000 in 2012, he
has increased his donations year-on-year
before most recently signing a cheque for a
whopping £70,000.
Andy Preston (pictured), the foundation’s
delighted founder-chairman, said he is
always moved by the anonymous donor’s
generosity.
“Our generous anonymous donor is
an inspiring example of someone doing
something he doesn’t have to do and gets
nothing out of, other than the knowledge
and satisfaction that they’re doing some
good,” said Preston.
“There’s nothing in this for him on a
personal level. It’s a genuinely selfless act
from someone who just wants to do some
good for Teesside.
“There’s
something
quite
magical
about the
foundation.
It isn’t the
size of the
cheques
we’re
writing, it’s
the way people are coming together.”
The charity said the money would go
towards helping continue its work in
support of such projects as its Schools
Hardship Fund and caravan holidays for
some of Teesside’s most disadvantaged
families.
Patrons of the foundation include
Middlesbrough FC, AV Dawson, Active
Chartered Financial Services, Devereux,
Vitality Dental Care, Baldwins, Archers
Law, Hambleton Group, ArtAV, The Keys,
Endeavour Partnership, The Build Directory,
Cleveland Cable Company, px Group, Cool
Blue and Erimus Insurance Brokers.
Individual patrons include Preston along
with Rob McLaughlin, Barney Ord, Bill
Scott, Simon Scotchbrook, Ian and Adrienne
Stark and the Sizer, Stephenson and Smith
families.
Boro shirt sponsor Ramsdens has
expanded after snapping up a number of
The Money Shop stores in a £1.5m deal.
The deal sees the company – which
already has 139 stores and four franchises
– acquire the business and certain
operating assets of a portfolio of 18 The
Money Shop stores from owners Instant
Cash Loans, acquiring pawnbroking loan
books of all outlets. The deal also sees
Ramsdens take on 70 new employees.
ENGINEER COMPLETES BUY-OUT
An engineer has completed the buy-out
of his young but growing Middlesbrough
firm.
Prosafe Engineering managing director
Greg Hynes was an equal shareholder
in the business with joint founder Mike
Styan.
But Hynes has now acquired the other
50% of the award-winning business,
which supplies a bespoke range of
process safety products and services to
large-scale processing industries across
the world.
TEESSIDE PARK’S £12M WORKS
Improvement works have started
at Teesside Park, representing the
first phase in the centre’s long-term
redevelopment.
Teesside Park’s owner, British Land, is
investing £12m over the next two years
to improve the traffic flow and overall
shopping experience.
SIX-FIGURE INVESTMENT
FOR ITHICA
Middlesbrough-based Ithica Films has
secured a six-figure investment from NPIF
– FW Capital Debt Finance, managed
by FW Capital and part of the Northern
Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF).
Ithica will use the investment to help
achieve their ambitious growth plans and
expand their marketing presence.
The firm, formed in 2014, aims to create
an in-house development position while
upgrading equipment and expanding their
facilities at its Boho One HQ.
A £7m investment into a major
biotechnology facility has been agreed
by the Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen
and Tees Valley Combined Authority
cabinet. The investment, which will aid
the development of Fujifilm Diosynth
Biotechnologies’ £14.5m BioCampus
project in Billingham, is expected to lead to
the creation of up to 50 high-value jobs and
add £4m per year to the regional economy.
#TalkingUpTeesside