Subsea cable protection group Tekmar sealed two deals, including a contract worth more than £2.5m for a project in the Middle East.
The North East-based specialist in systems for oil and gas and renewables operators made the announcement to investors on the London Stock Exchange. It will see Tekmar provide its TekDuct product as well as ballast modules and other equipment for what it called a significant subsea project due to be delivered in the second quarter of 2024.
The firm's TekDuct systems are shell mouldings applied to power cables, umbilicals and risers which are conduits for liquid flowing from underwater to platforms and vessels. Alasdair Macdonald, CEO of Tekmar Group, said "This contract highlights our strong position in the Middle East, a strategically important market for us, where we are well positioned to support our customers' complex engineering requirements in the region. We look forward to supporting our partners in successfully delivering this project."
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In the second significant deal, the group also completed a full takeover of geotechnical consultancy Ryder Geotechnical, four years on from its acquisition of a majority stake in the firm. The deal for the remaining 20% of shares in the firm will see Tekmar's AgileTek business pay £200,000 to Ryder directors Nigel Jeremy Martin and Fraser Gibson, including a £150,000 cash payment on completion and a further £50,000 in Tekmar Group shares, maturing on the first and second anniversary of the deal, provided both are still employed by the company.
A group of North East colleges, training companies and a university have been handed a £3.6m funding pot to deliver skills training over the next two years.
The consortium, led by East Durham College, has been awarded a share of the wider £165m Local Skills Improvement Fund in order to tackle the North East's Local Skills Improvement Plan (NELSIP). The plan has been informed by the region's businesses who were consulted on their requirements and how new technologies and the pursuit of net zero would impact those needs.
Also involved in the deliver is Sunderland College, which will lead on advanced manufacturing; Gateshead College, which will lead digital; East Durham College, which will lead health science and New College Durham which will lead on construction. The project is also supported by training providers NA College and Learning Curve and Sunderland University.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said: “This investment is about boosting local industries, building people’s skills and, ultimately, futureproofing our economy and the career prospects of the next generation. Our local skills projects will bring together regional organisations, businesses and education providers to respond to the specific needs of employers, building an increasingly skilled workforce and growing local economies.
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Restaurant brand The Muddler struck a deal to launch into Sunderland with a new venue in the city's Keel Square redevelopment. Having established its popularity with its Newcastle Grey Street branch, leisure operator Danieli Group has identified space on the ground floor of the new Holiday Inn in Sunderland. The pan-Asian restaurant and cocktail bar, which first opened up on Tyneside in 2018, is scheduled to open next year and will join forthcoming nearby venues The Botanist and Keel Tavern that are expected to open before the end of this year.
With the move, which promises 30 new jobs, Danieli says it wants to replicate the success of its Newcastle restaurant which was expanded from its original footprint having proven popular with its offer of dim sum, Asian style tapas and bigger dishes. Now, subject to planning and licensing approval, it will convert the unit into similarly luxurious surroundings.
Neill Winch, chief executive at Danieli Group, which also runs Stack Seaburn and Yolo Ponteland and Yolo Townhouse in Newcastle, alongside care homes and facilities management services, said: "We’re really excited to be launching The Mudder in Sunderland, a place we know well having spent the last few years establishing Stack in Seaburn, a venue that has proven to be phenomenally popular.
"The city centre in Sunderland is going through an amazing transformation, with more venues opening their doors to welcome people by day and night. Positioned on the doorstep of the Empire, as well as the city’s Auditorium, we are at the heart of a regenerating part of the city centre that is becoming an established place of work and play."
Confectionery giant Mars is set to buy Hotel Chocolat in a deal that values the company at £534m.
The upmarket chain - which was co-founded by South Tyneside-born Angus Thirlwell - has issued a statement saying it has reached agreement on a takeover from Hive Bidco, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mars Incorporated. The offer of 375p per share is more than double Hotel Chocolat’s current share price.
Hotel Chocolat stresses its ‘authenticity’ and ‘originality’, with a “More Cocoa, Less Sugar” motto that makes a commitment to provide cacao farmers with a fair price for their produce. But it said it could not fulfill its ambitions to grow internationally without the financial support that could be offered by a major global corporation like Mars.
In a statement to the Stock Exchange, Hotel Chocolat said the bid had received the backing of its founders Angus Thirlwell and Peter Harris, directors and shareholders controlling around two-thirds of the company. As part of the offer, shareholders could either receive cash or some shares in the new owner, it said.