Steven Hugill

Developers are pressing ahead with plans to revamp a “failing” city shopping mall into a “vibrant” leisure and residential hub. Citrus Group and Galliard Homes have submitted a blueprint to redevelop Durham’s Prince Bishops’ Place shopping centre. Bosses say it would create a “landmark development” of shops, a hotel, student housing and a public square,... Read more »

A North East firm is helping Ukrainian forces repel Russia’s invasion. Pearson Engineering is sending equipment to combat mine and bomb attacks across the war-torn country. The contract includes “multi-purpose interfaces” for vehicles to fit mine ploughs and additional anti-explosive equipment. The Newcastle-based firm is also supplying remotely-controlled mine clearance vehicles, pictured above, and mine... Read more »

A business support organisation has been taken over. Innovation SuperNetwork is now part of UMi Holdings. UMi says the deal will “provide even more opportunities for businesses to do more and go further… and access the best advice and support in areas such as investment, digital technologies, innovation and supply chain development”. Known for delivering... Read more »

A failed automotive battery-making site is poised to be transformed into a £10 billion data centre. Blackstone Group has agreed a deal to buy Britishvolt’s former base in Cambois, Northumberland. Bosses say the 235-acre plot, which has stood idle since Britishvolt’s collapse early last year, would house a huge “hyperscale datacentre campus” holding potential to... Read more »

A family-run accountancy firm has unveiled growth plans following a head office move. Stafford Accountancy has switched to The Yard, in Sunderland. Bosses say the venture will allow it to create more jobs and further roll out a digital-first operating model. Based in Sunderland city centre since 1994, the company has grown in recent years,... Read more »

A County Durham technology firm has secured a £15.8 million deal with Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Sedgefield-based Filtronic will supply the rocket and spacecraft maker with power amplifiers and similar products. The equipment will be used on SpaceX’s Starlink constellation, which uses low Earth orbit satellites to deliver high-speed internet connections globally. Bosses say a first raft of... Read more »

A technology firm whose equipment helps foil terror attacks has secured a contract worth more than £2 million. Kromek Group has agreed a deal to continue sending its radiation detectors to an existing US federal customer. The tie-up comes just weeks after Kromek, based at NETPark, in Sedgefield, County Durham, picked up a contract worth more... Read more »

A renewables firm is moving to new headquarters following a takeover. OnPath Energy will switch to Chase House, on Rainton Bridge Business Park, later this year. The move follows Brookfield Global Transition Fund’s swoop for Banks Renewables – latterly renamed as OnPath Energy – in late 2023. Bosses say the base will boost the roll out... Read more »

A housing developer has strengthened operations with a number of appointments. Ascent Homes has added Siobhan Hope, Peter Dawson, Karen McArthur and Lauren Sykes to its sales team. Bosses say they will help the operator, which is the housebuilding arm of Advance Northumberland, meet increasing demand. Boasting 16 years’ experience, with time at Barratt Homes,... Read more »

A company behind work aimed at charging the UK’s energy revolution has unveiled 125-job factory plans. Weardale Lithium has submitted a blueprint to build a lithium extraction plant at Eastgate, near Stanhope, County Durham. Earmarked for an ex-cement works site, bosses say the venture would operate as “one of the most advanced lithium extraction plants... Read more »