Durham - a shining example of a business destination

BUSINESS leaders have praised Durham’s “enlightened” approach to creating an outstanding destination for business investment and job creation.

In the past four years, more than 3,400 businesses have relocated, set up, or expanded in the county, thanks to the support of Durham County Council and Business Durham, the county’s economic development company, working on behalf of the council.

Durham County Council leader Simon Henig has welcomed the positive feedback from businesses and vowed to increase the focus on inward investment even further.

Councillor Henig said: “As a council, we are leading the way in innovation when it comes to attracting new business to the county and supporting those existing businesses looking to expand here.”

He added that the opening of the business hub in Durham City was one example of how the county is fast becoming “a beacon for business, attracting leading lights of their industries to locate here and, in turn, bring investment, job security and business diversity to our county”.

LEADING THE WAY: Durham County Council leader Simon Henig

The county recently adopted the brand ‘Durham Place of Light’ and Dr Neil Loxley, chief executive officer of IBEX Innovations, is among business leaders who have described the county as a shining example when it comes to creating business opportunities.

Dr Loxley, whose company moved to NETPark at Sedgefield in 2012, said a big plus had been the “positive, pragmatic and flexible approach” of Business Durham, who manage NETPark – an internationally recognised location, providing a dynamic and supportive environment to accelerate the growth of ambitious, innovative, high tech companies into global markets.

His views were echoed by Nic Marshall, chief executive of fast-growing customer contact company ResQ, which is creating 1,200 jobs at the Spectrum Business Park in Seaham.

Mr Marshall said: “Spectrum Business Park and the county as a whole offered us the quality of premises we needed for this key expansion of our business, with access to a high quality workforce which was critical in our decision-making process.”

Meanwhile, the North-East chairman of the Federation of Small Business (FSB), Ted Salmon, described the work of Business Durham as an exemplar of how councils can stimulate high-value economic activity.

The reasons cited by companies for choosing Durham as a business location include:

• A good quality of life, with lower property prices;

• Proximity to leading universities;

• A growing and influential technology cluster;

• Good connectivity to road, rail and air links;

• Strong partnerships; • Close proximity to an area of outstanding natural beauty;

• Cross-boundary collaborations;

• A workforce with a positive attitude.

Over the next few weeks, www.northernecho.co.uk will feature a series of case studies, describing the experiences of businesses which have chosen Durham.

Simon Goon, managing director of Business Durham, said: “What these case studies illustrate is a quiet pride that businesses located in Durham have in being here.

“Companies like these, and thousands of others all across the county, are immensely important to our future economic prosperity. This isn’t just a location to them, they know they are part of a much wider community – one that is resilient and innovative.”

Here's how to find out more about doing business in Durham