The North East Space to build a better business


A revamped offering and improvements to its four core business centres topped off a stellar 2024 for the North East BIC.


An impact report conducted in 2024 revealed that the social enterprise has provided a £2.5billion boost to the regional econ- omy since opening its doors 30 years ago. Providing a home to over 1,100 businesses over three decades, the economic impact of its flexible workspace alone is in excess of £1bn.


Throw in its free business start-up support, innovation grants and social enterprise accel- erators into the mix, and the overall figures exceeds £2.5billion.


And with over 300 businesses now working from its four business centres, and hundreds more tapping into its free business support programmes each and every year, the BIC is confident for 2025, despite the challenges lying ahead for the property sector.


Paul McEldon OBE, chief executive, said: “It’s been another fantastic year for the BIC, with


our newest business hub in Darlington prov- ing a real hit and our start-up and social enter- prise teams supporting hundreds of people across the region.


“Our largest business centre, on the banks of the River Wear in Sunderland, is also nearing capacity, and the other two centres which we manage for our partners are also performing strongly.


“I think the main reason for this is the fact that our workspace is flexible, providing an easy-in, easy-out policy. Especially for those just start- ing out, that ability to easily up or downsize acts as a real lifeline as it helps de-risk the entire process.”


Today, the BIC operates two business cen- tres in Sunderland and two in Darlington, totalling 249,000sq ft of workspace housing 1,080 employees.


The £8m Innovation Central development is the latest addition to its portfolio in Darlington, which also includes Business


Central, with the organisation managing the business centres on behalf of Darlington Borough Council.


“We’ve been delighted by the early success of our Darlington workspace,” Paul added. “It has helped support hundreds of jobs while providing the high-quality space required to attract new businesses to the town and retain its existing talent.


“It’s a great example of how, by working with like-minded partners from the pub- lic and private sectors, we can deliver the flexible, quality workspace required to help the region’s businesses innovate and grow.


“Looking forward, our plan is very much to continue in this vein, by investing in improving our existing sites and work- ing with existing and new partners, both public and private, to continue delivering more of our unique flexible workspace and support as regional demand continues to outstrip supply.”


Teesside Airport Business Park’s Flying High industrial buildings, creating up to 4,400 jobs.


It benefits from unique and excellent trans- port links including a seaport on the east coast, excellent access to the A1(M), the A19 and A66 linking across northern England and into Scotland.


From left Nella Pang, Managing Director, Omega RE, Duncan Taylor, Chief Growth and Technical Officer at ABL 1 Touch and Teesside Airport Head of Property and Development Victoria Ashby


Teesside International Airport is going from strength to strength in supporting local and global businesses – as its sets its sights on securing even more world-class tenants to its business parks.


The business park is already home to more than 40 key companies and in recent months, it has seen a huge amount of investment, securing more support from companies old and new. Following a £6.5million 26,995sq ft hangar development, industry leading aircraft painting firm Airbourne Colours has signed a 20-year lease, establishing a base at Teesside which is creating 40 jobs.


Teesside’s reputation as a growing centre for aircraft maintenance has received another big boost, with existing occupier Willis Aviation Services Limited signing deals with both TUI and Jet2 to carry out services and inspections on their aircraft.


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Other long-standing partners include avi- ation and technology services firm Draken, and FedEx which is also seeing success after relocating its cargo operations from Newcastle Airport to Teesside, signing a five-year agreement for an airfreight han- dling facility to meet growing import and export demand.


But Business Park North is just one half of the equation.


The airport’s Business Park South has also secured its first tenant, in award-winning vehicle repair company ABL 1 Touch who has taken up residence in a 25,000sq ft unit, supported by commercial property experts Omega RE.


This is a milestone for the £200million devel- opment, a 270-acre site set to feature 2.8mil- lion sq ft of logistics, aviation and general


A £20million package of improvements was announced in 2024 for Teesside Airport Railway Station, which will transform it into a modern facility ensuring road, sea, air and rail links to provide full multimodal connectivity.


As part of the Teesside Freeport, locating at the airport offers businesses customs incen- tives including duty deferral, the suspension of import VAT on goods entering the zone, and the ability to manufacture goods using imports and add value before exporting to international markets without ever paying the full tariff on business goods.


Last year also saw the appointment of prop- erty specialists Colliers and AREA to support the business park’s continued growth as it seeks to attract further global investors.


Businesses big and small are now real- ising the fantastic opportunities on offer at Teesside Airport – find out more and join them.


For more information, visit www.teessideinternational.com/business


COMMERCIAL PROPERTY MONTHLY 2025


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