S TOCKTON N E WS
Popular - Stockton’s
Hampton by Hilton.
FIRMS JOIN FORCES TO
ADVISE ON EUROPEAN
ACQUISITION
Strong first year for Stockton hotel
S
tockton’s Hampton by Hilton hotel
reported a profit of £137,000 as it
approached the end of its first full
year of trading.
The 128-room, five-storey hotel racked
up the profit for the financial year to the
end of 2019.
To date more than 34,000 room
bookings have been taken with more than
48,000 guests staying and overwhelmingly
positive reviews on travel websites.
The hotel, which opened its doors in
February 2019, is particularly popular with
business travellers.
But events around the region have also
brought in plenty of visitors, with the arrival
of BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend in May 2019
leading to around 300 room bookings
alone.
Councillor Nigel Cooke, Stockton
Council’s cabinet member for regeneration
and transport, said: “The hotel’s
SOLMEK TARGETS
FURTHER GROWTH
AFTER £2.4M BUYOUT
Stockton ground investigation firm
Solmek is under new ownership, with
director Richard Woods leading a £2.4m
management buyout from owner Gary
Dresser.
The purchase follows a management
buyout of another of Mr Dresser’s firms,
Dunelm, last year, and Mr Woods said
he was thrilled to see it go through after
working his way up as a long-serving
Solmek employee.
Solmek employs 23 staff at its offices and
geotechnical testing laboratory on Yarm
Road, and reported a £2.6m turnover in
2019, up by 136 per cent from £1.1m in 2014.
performance in its first year in business
makes for very pleasing reading.
“Naturally, pre-opening costs were
incurred in the 18/19 financial year – these
were fully expected as part of the overall
project costs and are fast on the way to
being cleared.
“It’s a hugely encouraging start and
all signs point to the hotel being a highly
valuable asset for the local economy, as we
expected.”
General manager John Lambourne-
Richardson added: “I’ve been delighted
to see the hotel flourish in its first year of
trading.
“We have enjoyed many successful
events in the region and this has helped to
heighten the profile.
“As the Tees Valley gets ready for some
exciting investment opportunities, we look
forward to being of service and working
with new and existing business partners.”
Lifts lift firm rises
to new heights
One of the region’s largest independent
lift companies has continued its rapid
expansion by investing in a new site in
Warrington.
Pickerings Lifts, whose head office is
in Stockton, wants to extend its footprint
in the North-West and the new site
will complement its existing facility in
Manchester.
The family-owned firm has been
repairing, maintaining and installing lifts,
escalators, loading systems and mobility
equipment since 1854.
The opening of the Warrington site –
Pickerings Lifts’ 12th office – is the next
phase in the company’s organic growth.
The move has created five jobs, including a
role for an apprentice.
Accountants Baines Jewitt and
solicitors from The Endeavour
Partnership were called on by
German engine management
specialist Heinzmann Holdings
GmbH to assist them with a UK
acquisition.
Trevor Cook, from Baines
Jewitt, and Nigel Williams,
from Endeavour, led a team
advising Heinzmann on the
acquisition of Southampton-
based manufacturer of high-
pressure fuel injection pipes Giro
Engineering Holdings.
Founded in 1897, Heinzmann
has 15 global subsidiaries,
including eight production sites
and an international distributor
network.
The product portfolio includes
engine management system
solutions, as well as exhaust gas
treatment solutions, for industrial
combustion engines and turbines.
Station access
boosted by £8m
investment
Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen
and the combined authority
cabinet has agreed £8m to
kickstart work for a second
access point for Eaglescliffe
Railway Station.
Eaglescliffe is a key station
for connectivity from Tees
Valley to both local and national
destinations, with a half-hourly
service between Darlington and
Saltburn plus Grand Central’s
route to London, which will begin
running six times daily later this
year.
The project would create a new
western access to the station at
land adjacent to Durham Lane
Industrial Estate, including a car
park made up of around 120
spaces and a fully accessible
pedestrian footbridge.
The voice of business in the Tees region | 103