READY-MADE offices company Mentmore Abbey is confident that the feared recession will not dent its operations.

The company, which operates 33 Imex serviced business spaces in the North-East, accounting for 800,000sq ft of space, and a personal storage business in Newcastle, believes its tenants will simply tighten their belts to continue working.

Mentmore Abbey chief executive, Kim Taylor-Smith, said: "The threatened recession is likely to affect our business because it will affect our tenants.

"While we will have to fight harder to maintain our business, our tenants will have to tighten their belts to maintain theirs.

"Many of our tenants are small businesses employing a handful of people. While they might let one or two staff go, they won't go to the wall altogether because they have got a taste for working for themselves, and would rather keep doing that than look for a job with a large company."

Mentmore Abbey, which employs 900 people, reported pre-tax profits of £15.5m in the six months to October 31, compared to £6.7m in the same period of last year.

However, that profit figure was boosted by the disposal of a 20 per cent stake in Workspace, which generated £29.9m.

Mentmore Abbey is continuing to focus on upgrading existing Imex facilities and spent £800,000 in the first half of the year on upgrades, including its centre in Birtley, County Durham, to which it has added more office space.