Member Article

North East business support outfits merge

Two major North East business support operations will merge to create a “powerhouse” for enterprise support in the region.

The North East Business and Innovation Centre (BIC) and TEDCO have worked closely together for a number of years, and the deal will further cement the existing relationship.

Doug Scott, Chief Executive of TEDCO, said: “The BIC and TEDCO are very similar organizations with a lot in common in terms of our missions, our experiences, our values and our way of doing things. We have built sound foundations for future developments and believe that this is a great way forward for both organisations and their respective staffs.”

Paul McEldon, Chief Executive of the BIC added: “Doug Scott and I are both involved with national and regional enterprise support organisations and TEDCO has a superb track record in start-up support: three of the new businesses TEDCO worked with from start-up in the last few years now employ over 700 staff between them.

“Collectively the regional enterprise agencies helped to create over 2,000 new businesses last year and by bringing the BIC and TEDCO together we feel we can do more to support not just fledgling but also established businesses in the region.

“By combining our efforts we feel we can offer a more cohesive and sustainable range of support packages that will not only benefit our individual clients but also the North East economy.”

The BIC, located in Sunderland, is part of the European-wide network of specialist support centres, and helps businesses to explore innovative and enterprising opportunities, as well as providing incubator space.

TEDCO, with its base in Jarrow, has gained an enviable reputation nationally for delivering business support contracts throughout the region via outreach facilities.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .