Growing estate agency business My Property Box is set for growth after securing a multimillion-pound investment from BGF.
The Darlington based residential agency, which was founded 12 years ago, manages properties across the North East from offices in Darlington and Newcastle, serving the professional and student markets. As well as lettings the company has a strong estate agency arm, delivering property sales for customers across the region.
My Property Box has made 10 acquisitions since 2019, and has previously told how it has mulled expansion further south into Leeds and West Yorkshire and Cumbria, after it secured £300,000 from the North East Growth Capital Fund Loan Fund in 2022. Now the firm is set to step up its ongoing buy-and-build strategy with support from investor BGF. The value of the investment from BGF has not been disclosed.
Ben Quaintrell, founder and CEO, said: “The North East lettings market remains fragmented, presenting us with opportunity to capitalise on our successful buy and build strategy. To execute this, we needed a long-term investment partner that shared our vision and understood the potential that exists – both in the company and in the market. In BGF, we believe we have found this, and we’re looking forward to taking our growth plans to the next level with the support of a trusted investor.”
A former Victorian school in County Durham is being turned into family homes by Langley Lodge Developments following a six-figure investment. Croft School was bought from Durham County Council by Langley Lodge Developments, triggering a transformation programme to create four homes, with four and five bedrooms.
The firm secured the investment from the North East Property Fund, which is managed by FW Capital and backed by the North East Combined Authority, to drive forward the project, which is now called Oakwood Court.
The project marks the latest for the Durham development company, led by Mick Brett and Peter Lee, which specialises in conservation and restoration projects. The company converted the Grade II listed Esh Winning Miners Memorial Hall into supported living units in a scheme which earned it a number of accolades, including an Architectural Award from the City of Durham Trust in 2013.
A global media company is on the move to Tyneside after signing up for offices at a North East business park. Media and entertainment group Warner Brothers Discovery has signed a deal to open offices at Quorum Park in North Tyneside, a move which could bring new jobs to the region.
Warner Brothers Discovery, which has its head office in New York, owns brands including TNT Sports, Warner Brothers Pictures, Discovery, CNN and Quest, and it has taken 5,861 sqft of space at the newly refurbished Q5 office building. The office will become a base for the conglomerate’s TNT Sports brand.
A North East electricals company is set for growth after securing a multimillion-pound investment package. Isocom Components 2004 Ltd has received the investment from regional private equity and infrastructure investment manager Foresight Group, to aid the firm’s expansion plans. The Hartlepool-based business is a niche supplier of optocouplers and optoswitches – devices which are safety critical components.
Isocom Components 2004 designs, configures and tests optocouplers, which are used in consumer, industrial and automotive sectors. The company, which has been operating for more than 30 years, also acts as a distributor, sourcing components from suppliers and then configuring them to specific customer requirements at its Hartlepool facility before sending them to distributors and customers around the world.
A popular North fancy dress retailer which has traded for more than 130 years has been saved after being snapped up out of administration by an American group. R.H. Smith & Sons (Wigmakers) Ltd – which trades as Smiffy’s at stores in Newcastle, Liverpool, Oxford and Leeds – took a big hit during the pandemic when lockdowns led to a huge drop in demand for costume and party products.
The firm started operating in 1894 and grew to become a leading fancy dress, halloween and carnival manufacturing company, distributing thousands of products to over 2,000 stockists around the world..
Smiffy’s acquired the Newcastle store two years ago, when the owners of the Magic Box shop announced they were selling up after running the operation for more than 30 years. Jane Steer and Sarah O’Toole of PwC have now been appointed as joint administrators of R.H. Smith & Sons (Wigmakers) and, on appointment, they completed a sale of the business and assets of the company to Ad Populum LLC.
Ms Steer, joint administrator and partner at PwC, said: “Smiffy’s is a popular brand that has been operating in one form or another since 1894, but sadly, like many other retailers, it was impacted by the after effects of the pandemic. The buyer, Ad Populum, will add Smiffy’s to its comprehensive range of brands which includes extensive experience of the fancy dress and toy markets.”
Pharma company Shield Therapeutics says it has struck a deal with shareholder AOP to secure a $5.7m (£4.4m) cash sum that will "fortify" its balance sheet.
The Newcastle-based business says the "monetisation" deal with its largest investor will also bring AOP's founder, Rudolf Widmann to its board as a non-executive director. Shield told the London Stock Exchange the sum is in exchange for right to receive the $11.4m (£8.9m) China approval milestone payment that may be paid to Shield by ASK Pharma, the firm's commercial partner in China for its Accrufer iron deficiency tablets.
Greg Madison, Shield CEO, said: "We are pleased to work with AOP on this milestone monetization agreement to bring in additional capital to support our growing business. We are encouraged by the recent Accrufer commercial trends in the US and will continue to be opportunistic to further support our growing business. This agreement, following our recently announced Sallyport deal, provides us with additional operational and financial flexibility. The $5.7m, along with approximately $8m cash on hand at the end of May 2024 allows us to further fortify our balance sheet and expand our working capital.
Subsea equipment firm Tekmar has won a new contract to supply its cable protection systems, in a deal worth more than €4m (£3.3m). The Darlington-based business will build its Generation 10 cable protection system and associated equipment for an unnamed European wind farm project - a move which outgoing boss Alasdair MacDonald said strengthens its position in Europe. Workers at Tekmar's Newton Aycliffe base will start on the work immediately with the cable protection systems slated to be delivered in December 2025.
News of the contract emerged on the London Stock Exchange, where in recent weeks Tekmar has announced the appointment of Richard Turner as CEO. Mr Turner joins Tekmar later this summer - a move which board members said brings to a conclusion a multi-year strategy to stabilise the £40m revenue business.
Mr MacDonald, CEO of Tekmar Group, said: "This contract, where we are partnering with a new customer, is testament to our strong in-house engineering capabilities, which enable us to address customers' complex engineering requirements and optimise and de-risk projects. The award helps consolidate our strong position in the European offshore wind market and reflects the strength of our working relationships with project developers and key supply chain partners. We look forward to supporting our partners in successfully delivering this project."
Industrial research centre the Materials Processing Institute (MPI) has secured a £4.2m investment into work on decarbonising key UK "foundation" sectors. Newly appointed CEO Terry Walsh announced the capital injection for the North East-based institute's work on the EconoMISER programme, which is helping to make some of the country's biggest industrial polluters more sustainable. Research at the MPI is helping to scale-up sustainable technologies that can play a role in the making of metals, ceramics, glass, chemicals, paper and cement.
The Teesside-based institute will create a new Cement and Concrete Research Centre, and invest in predictive artificial intelligence technologies to support alloy development, new instrumentation to validate furnace modelling together with refractories testing equipment. Mr Walsh, who took over as CEO this week, said: "This support will fund investment in cutting-edge equipment and facilities enhancing research capabilities in areas which include alloy development, hot metal processing, furnace modelling techniques, concrete and cement decarbonisation, and the testing of energy sources for refractories."
