County Durham-based water retailer Wave toasted a lucrative framework deal worth more than £100m.
The Pity Me company, which employs more than 300 people, secured the new four-year water framework with The Energy Consortium (TEC), which gives it access to university and museum customers across the Ƶ, bringing in combined revenue of £25m a year. Wave, which turned over £435m in its most recent accounts, said it is expected to retain all of the consortium’s current customers, and that the new framework builds upon an existing four-year relationship with TEC.
The business – a joint venture between Northumbrian Water Group and Anglian Water Group – helps commercial customers across the Ƶ to drive down water usage and lower their utility bills.
Tony March, director of public sector and industrial customers at Wave, said: “Wave is delighted to have secured the new TEC framework, which will provide a great platform to build on the fantastic work which is in progress. Together, we’ll work to drive efficiencies, reduce water consumption, improve compliance and continue all our journeys to net zero."
Growing estate agency group My Property Box expanded its portfolio after swooping for letting agencies in North Yorkshire and County Durham. The business, which secured a multimillion-pound investment from BGF this summer, has acquired Northallerton based John Prest and Landlords 2 in Darlington to boost its footprint, while also adding more than 450 managed properties to its portfolio. Both of the deals have been triggered by the retirement of key directors, including John Prest and his son Mark.
The company’s office on Northallerton’s High Street will be retained, together with its brand and current staff of two. Clare Bopari, a manager at My Property Box will oversee the operation. The deal involving Landlords 2 was prompted by the retirement of long-serving director Tim Haigh. Its Coniscliffe Road office has now closed and all services are being integrated into the My Property Box infrastructure.
Ben Quaintrell, founder and CEO of My Property Box, said: “These acquisitions are an important part of our strategy to strengthen our market presence across the North East and North Yorkshire. Both John Prest and Landlords 2 have a long-standing reputation for delivering excellent service, and we’re excited to build on these foundations."
Fresh from announcing a return to Fenwick this Christmas, Greggs features in our deals round-up again after it was reported to have joined forces with another baking icon for the ultimate Christmas campaign.
Following collaborations including , Bistro Greggs and the Greggs champagne bar in Fenwick, it's now rumoured that kitchen goddess Nigella Lawson has signed up to be the face of Greggs this festive season. The TV chef is said to have inked a six-figure deal to star in the Newcastle food-on-the-go firm's Christmas advert.
The food writer and former restaurant critic was spotted filming in west London with a bag of Greggs treats, and there is speculation she may also suggest ideas for Gregg's seasonal menu as part of the deal. Greggs' alleged partnership with Nigella is viewed as a significant win for the Newcastle firm, already leading the pack in festive food-on-the-go thanks to its seasonal festive bake, due to hit the shelves in the company's 2,500-plus stores next month.
Telecoms tech firm Filtronic invested in its factory facility in County Durham, ahead of a wider move into a new base.
The maker of high-tech satellite communications equipment has added two new production lines at its NETPark facility in Sedgefield. Bosses say the move - which creates 12 skills jobs and requires 24/7 staffing - will bring increased productivity of between 50-75% in order to cater for a series of high profile contract wins in recent months.
The investment provides additional capacity for production of Filtronic's radio frequency modules, including new product lines that are intended to serve emerging frequencies and bandwidths. It will also cater for the future products that are yet to go into full production.
Mark Black, chief operations officer at Filtronic, said: "Meeting the increased production demand is our priority, and we are committed to maintaining our high standards of operational excellence. With NETPark’s flexibility, we can grow both in the short and long term. These two new lines are vital to supporting our recent successes and will allow us to further scale our output."
Family firm Dicksons has invested in a new store opening and new branding. The firm, which supplies meat and bakery goods within its North East network of shops as well as in supermarkets and other shops opened store number 33 in Blyth, and the new Northumberland site is the first to show off the company’s £100,000 new logo.
The South Shields-based business, which last year marked 70 years of trading, decided the branding needed a revamp to keep up with the modern tastes of its customers. Working with marketing agency Gardiner Richardson, the teams spent months researching new branding, fonts and colours, while designing a new logo using shades of red, brown and white.
Mike Dickson, retail growth director, said: “It’s about giving our customers what they want and of course keeping up with evolving appetites. We are constantly bringing out new products like our deli ranges, barista coffees and protein salad bowls, but we also need to make sure we look attractive too.
“There’s been a few Dicksons logos over the years, we last had a change about nine years ago. We know all too well that people can get attached to the branding they see when they're going about their weekly shop, or popping in to see us for lunch. But we want to stress that no matter what changes are made externally, we are still the same family business, feeding the hard-working region with top quality products.”
North East renewables business OnPath Energy completed the sale of its shares in the recently constructed Kype Muir Wind Farm Extension near Strathaven in South Lanarkshire to funds managed by Schroders Greencoat LLP.
The 15-turbine wind farm was the first project in the Ƶ to build turbines with a 200-metre tip height, marking a significant milestone in turbine technology and renewable energy development. Greencoat Ƶ Wind plc has been an investor in Kype Muir Wind Farm Extension since 2021, which enabled OnPath Energy to construct the project at a time when Ƶ onshore renewables deployment was extremely challenging.
Following the completion of construction, funds managed by Schroders Greencoat have now acquired the remaining 50.1 per cent of the project shares.
Gordon Thomson, projects director at OnPath Energy, said: “Kype Muir Wind Farm Extension is a groundbreaking Ƶ project being the first to construct 200m turbines and a product of OnPath Energy’s progressive development philosophy. The project will provide tens of thousands of homes with renewable energy and we’re proud to have taken this important project from first principles through to its completion.
"OnPath has ambitious plans to make further additional capital investment in high quality renewable energy infrastructure, amplifying the difference we can make to a net zero future for the Ƶ that will help to lower consumer bills, improve the Ƶ’s energy security and deliver a just transition that is fair and inclusive for everyone.”
