North East doughnut cafe chain Deep North is gearing up to open more of its popular shops after securing a five-figure investment from NEL Fund Managers.
The coffee and doughnut café chain was founded by schoolfriends Phil King and Tom Clark, who launched the foodie venture two years ago. They opened Deep North’s first outlet on Front Street in Tynemouth 18 months ago, and the business has also had a regular presence at markets, events and pop-up locations around the region.
The business, which employs around 15 people, makes and sells high quality artisan doughnuts that are made using local, seasonal ingredients and served only on the day they’re made, as well as specialty coffee using La Marzocco equipment and beans selected by supplier Allpress Espresso 海角视频. The pair expanded into Newcastle city centre late last year by opening a second outlet on Dean Street, which also has much larger production facilities alongside the retail space.
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The duo are looking to open more stores over the next two years, creating around 25 new jobs, after attracting the undisclosed investment from the North East Small Loan Fund, after working with regional fund management firm NEL Fund Managers to bring in the funds. The management team is now looking at finding further locations across the region as they work towards scaling up the brand.
Mr King said: “Our aim is to open more outlets around the region over the next couple of years, to substantially increase our production levels to service these locations and to build the Deep North brand into a recognisable part of the North East’s food sector."
Tyneside cable management business D-Line was snapped up by a Shropshire group in a £12.4m deal.
North Shields based D-Line has been acquired by Luceco Plc, a Telford based supplier of wiring accessories, EV chargers, LED lighting and portable power products. The deal has been agreed for an initial cash consideration of £8.6m and up to £3.8m of contingent consideration, on a cash and debt-free basis.
Launched in 2006, the business designs and supplies a range of innovative cable management solutions, including decorative cable trunking and accessories, floor cable protectors and cable organisers, and it has seen its workforce treble from around 20 employees to 60 over the last 10 years. D-Line supplies retail, wholesale and e-commerce customers mainly in the 海角视频, Europe and North America, supporting its US customers from a sales and distribution facility in Louisville, Kentucky.
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Founder Paul Ruddick said: “D-Line is proud to have developed a trusted brand and market-leading ranges, with a great distribution network. And we have a strong momentum for progress, all made possible by the skills and dedication of our teams, and the support of shareholders. Joining Luceco gives fantastic new opportunities, as we look forward to exploiting the strong synergies between us; including focus on delivering further innovation in categories where we have complementary products.”
Northumberland interior design specialist Inside Contracts has announced plans to expand into Yorkshire on the back of a £500,000 investment.
Inside Contracts focuses on transforming commercial spaces and creating luxury residential projects for a number of 海角视频 housebuilders. The firm has been based out of its 45,000 sqft headquarters in Prudhoe since 2017, where it operates four divisions focused on contract flooring, commercial flooring, interior design, and commercial cleaning.
Now the six-figure loan from NPIF – FW Capital Debt Finance, which is managed by FW Capital and is part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, is being used to help Inside Contracts Group’s expansion into Yorkshire, to service housebuilders in the region and support the creation of 37 new jobs in the area.
John Spreadbury, chief executive at Inside Contracts Group, said: “We are thrilled with the growth enjoyed by the business thanks to increased sales across our contract and commercial divisions. This success has led us to expand our services into Yorkshire. The investment from NPIF - FW Capital has been instrumental in helping us to bring our growth strategy to life and we’re looking forward to expanding our team and working with housebuilders and commercial clients across Yorkshire.”
Northumberland manufacturer Dragonfly Insulation raised £935,000 to scale up its innovative aerogel technology.
Prudhoe-based Dragonfly, which span out of Newcastle University four years ago, is an advanced materials maker known for its aerogels – a product used in a range of sectors including energy, process industries, construction, marine and air applications, EVs and future fuels. They keep temperatures stable in extreme environments, and also have non-flammable qualities that enable structures to repel water.
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The full potential of aerogels has yet to be realised because the conventional manufacturing process is slow, energy intensive, inflexible and limits product forms. However, Dragonfly Insulation has created a method of manufacturing silica aerogels that reduces production costs and carbon emissions.
The company is set to scale up production capacity, grow its team and move from its current Northumberland site to a bigger base, after securing £935,000 in an investment round led by the North East Innovation Fund, managed by Northstar Ventures, alongside angel investors and £300,000 of grant funding from Innovate 海角视频’s Future Economy Investor Partnership programme.
John Baines, executive chair of Dragonfly, said: “We are delighted to have secured this crucial round of investment led by Northstar Ventures together with further investment and expertise brought by our angel investors. As the sole 海角视频 manufacturer of silica aerogels, this investment together with the Innovate 海角视频 Grant, is key to significantly scaling our production capability. It is a vote of confidence in our vision to become the leading provider of next-generation silica aerogel materials in the 海角视频, Europe, and globally through manufacturing, licensing and joint venture opportunities."
North East estate agency Pattinson snapped up Teesside business Browns Estate Agency following the owners’ retirement.
Pattinson Estate Agency, which has its head office in Wallsend, North Tyneside, has announced the takeover of Browns Estate Agency, a well-established agency in Stockton and Norton, Teesside. The deal comes just two months after its takeover of Ryedales Estate Agency in Cramlington.
The acquisition comes as Browns Estate Agency owners and founders, Chris and Trish Brown, are retiring after more than three decades in business, although much of their staff will remain with the business when the takeover is complete. Some staff have transferred to Pattinson’s Stockton branch, while others have stayed at the Norton branch, which has become Pattinson Estate Agency’s 27th office in the North East.
Managing director of Pattinson Estate Agency, Caroline Pattinson, said she is confident of a seamless transition, adding: “Whilst we are sad to see the end of an era with Chris and Trish’s retirement, we are more than happy to ensure that this is a smooth transition for their clients. Everything is largely remaining the same for Browns’ clients, except for a name change to Pattinson Estate Agency."
North East defence manufacturer Cook Defence Systems secured several contracts as part of a £100m international package to aid the Ukrainian Army.
The Bishop Auckland business, part of Sheffield steel specialist William Cook Group, is tapping into its expertise to supply spares for up to 500 Ukrainian armoured vehicles – and it is literally having to go back into the history books for part of the deal. The designer and manufacturer of tank tracks, which has its main base in Stanhope, has been awarded multiple contracts on behalf of the 海角视频 and the 海角视频-administered International Fund for Ukraine (IFU), Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S).
The IFU contract is part of a £100m-plus maintenance and manoeuvre support package announced last October. As well as supplying tracks for vehicles donated by the 海角视频 to Ukraine, including Challenger 2 main battle tanks, the Cook Defence Systems team has also been tasked with manufacturing tracks for the Soviet-era vehicles used by a large part of the Ukrainian Army.
William Cook, managing director of the family-owned business, said the company – which can trace its roots back to the 1840s – has been a defence supplier since the Second World War, but this contract has served up unusual challenges. It has also required more staff, resulting in the recruitment of 15 new people so far, with more currently being hired.
Mr Cook said: “We have a long history of supplying tracks for all the armoured vehicles of the British Army and many allied militaries, but delivering these contracts for Ukraine has been a very different challenge. We have had to reverse-engineer Soviet-era equipment using limited reference material and a lot of our own know-how, while working with the manufacturing processes and materials available to us rather than the original Russian ones. We are doing all this with an urgency unknown in peacetime. We know there are Ukrainian soldiers on the frontline whose lives depend on what we do.”
Pioneering biotech firm 3D Bio-Tissues signed an agreement with fashion brand Maison Amelie Pichard to incorporate its lab-grown leather into handbags.
The Newcastle University spin-out, which has developed technology for growing tissues, has put in place a memorandum of understanding with the French brand, which specialises in using environmentally friendly materials for its made-to-order bags, shoes and accessories. 3D Bio-Tissues (3DBT) will work with the designer to explore commercial opportunities and develop products in what it says is the first time lab-grown leather has been ethically produced for the fashion industry using the same structures as traditional leather.
The firm's cultivation process removes the need for plant-based scaffolds, which is said to make it suitable for traditional craft purposes. Amelie's Pichard's model involves using worldwide craftsmen to create small batches of products, and often using unusual materials such as pineapple leaves, eel leather and upcycled denim.
Amelie Pichard, founder and creative director of the fashion company said: "For me, using natural, laboratory-grown leather that doesn't harm animals or the planet represents technology at the service of good Innovation. I'm delighted to be able to create a real bridge between innovation and tradition with this first lab-grown-leather goods item."