Member Article

Accountants bring new life to LG Philips site

A new chapter in the life of the former LG Philips factory in Durham has begun with the first tenants moving in to a business park built on the site. Chartered accounts and business advisers Clive Owen & Co LLP will this Thursday open offices at the Mandale Park development on the outskirts of the city. The move marks a turnaround in fortunes for the place where over 750 staff were made redundant when the electronics giant announced it was ceasing production in March 2005.

Gary Ellis, Partner at Clive Owen & Co LLP, said: “The North East economy is performing exceptionally well and this success is reflected in the growth of our own business. While our main client base is in and around Durham, recently we have gained a substantial number of new clients in the Washington area and being so close to the A1 is a great feature for our development as a regional firm. With this move, the firm is more accessible. We wanted somewhere brand new and until now, we had not found any other new developments in the right location.”

Mandale Property Group paid more than £6m for the 33.5-acre site of the former LG Philips Displays factory in March last year, beating off interest from around five other bidders. The Stockton-based company has developed the business park and, in addition to the Clive Owen & Co LLP offices, there are a further 11 units of office space to let, including nine over two storeys, one over three storeys, and a restaurant/cafeteria unit.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .