Member Article

Northumberland trainers land £100k investment to crack new markets

Northumberland training outfit, TDB Training, has its eye on major expansion after securing a £100k invesment.

The Ashington-headquartered business opened a second hub in Manchester earlier this year to capitalise on new opportunities with clients in the North West, and has just opened a further office in Middlesbrough.

The investment from the Finance For Business North East Growth Fund, which is administered by regional fund management firm NEL Fund Managers, will allow TDB to grow their services which include practical accredited training and classroom-based training courses across and outside the North East which are primarily aimed at helping young people and those who have been made redundant into work.

Three new staff have recently been recruited by TDB on the back of growing client demand, to take the total number of company employees to 24, and several more are expected to join before the end of the year.

Originally set up in 2001 by experience trainer Tracy Blades as a deliverer of fork lift truck training to businesses in the North East, TDB Training provides apprenticeships in construction, business administration, and warehousing & storage on behalf of a number of public bodies, as well as NVQ training under the Work Placed Learning initiative and skills support training in partnership with several higher education institutions.

It has traditionally focussed on sectors such as construction, warehousing, logistics and distribution, but is now also looking at new opportunities in the security industry, on the back of the training required by security staff to obtain their Security Industry Association (SIA) accreditation.

Tracy Blades says: “Offering training and employability support to a range of different groups, from school leavers starting out in employment through to people retraining or upskilling after being made redundant, has been a very visible feature of the economic landscape over recent years, and we work closely with employers, Government bodies and educational institutions to help them deliver on their responsibilities.

“Our new Manchester office has got off to a very encouraging start, and we’re confident that adding a presence on Teesside will enable us to build an even stronger presence in the south of our home region and beyond.

“Our development over the years has very much been based on organic growth, with new services added as the opportunities have arisen, and we’ll continue to act on further openings, such as those we see in the security industry, as and when we see the chance to do so.

“NEL came to our attention as a potential source of capital through word of mouth recommendation, and obtaining this investment has been a very smooth process, with their supportive team always being available to help us work our way successfully towards securing it.”

David Thomas, investment executive at NEL Fund Managers, adds: “The TDB management team has built a successful business on the back of understanding their clients’ training needs and successfully delivering tailored services which meet them.

“They have a clear vision for the future of the company, and now have the resources they need to execute their development plans.”

Aimed at regional businesses which are at a development and growth stage, the Growth Fund forms part of the wider Finance for Business North East Fund.

Managed by North East Finance, it will see £125m of investment capital injected into the region by the European Investment Bank and the European Regional Development Fund 2007-13 over a five year period.

NEL is looking to make around 130 investments over the five-year life span of the Growth Fund, and is actively looking to speak to ambitious north east companies with robust business plans.

For more information about NEL’s investment criteria, visithttp://www.nel.co.uk/ or contact the investment team on 0845 111 1850.

The ERDF 2007-13 programme is bringing over £300m into North East England to support innovation, enterprise and business support. It will help create and safeguard 28,000 new jobs, start 3,000 new businesses and increase the region’s productivity by £1.1bn per annum.

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