Member Article

Business centre tenants move to bigger offices to accommodate growth

TWO businesses which are each undergoing a period of significant growth are moving to bigger offices to accommodate their continued expansion. QuickRebates and SSK Recruitment are both based within Novus Business Centre in Peterlee. And as each business has won new contracts, expanded their regional, national and international presence and added to their headcounts, they have outgrown their current offices and are now in the process of upsizing. Donna Cooper is co-partner at accountancy firm QuickRebates, which helps clients get money back from HM Revenue & Customs. The organisation, which was launched two years ago by Donna and her husband Glenn, now employs five people with plans for further recruitment and recently launched an accounting division, Edgemark Accounting, to support its expansion plans. Edgemark Accounting has been launched to capture local accounting clients, as well as to offer a more professional platform for those current tax rebate clients that require more sophisticated and traditional accounting services. She said: “Focus has been solely on client acquisition and ensuring the best possible customer service. Our philosophy is that our clients have a personal relationship with our individual staff members. Clients don’t form relationships with faceless brands, they build relationships with kind and caring staff. “With five people already employed and plans to strengthen our team in the coming months, we simply outgrew our current office and are in the process of moving to a bigger unit within Novus which will enable us to continue to grow.” Included in the future strategies will be to release version 2.0 of their current mobile app, allowing clients to record their income and expenditure records on a weekly basis to meet their eventual MTD (Making Tax Digital) requirements. Version 1 is already available on the AppStore and PlayStore and has proven to be a success for current clients. Meanwhile SKK Recruitment, which was launched by Adam Smith, Paul Kelly and Bradley Saunders in March 2018, has opened a second office at Bishop Auckland and has plans to open offices in Dubai and Iraq later this year. Alongside this growth, the company, a recruiter which specialises in the offshore, construction, industrial, and engineering sectors, is taking on a bigger office within Novus after outgrowing its current space. Adam said: “In just one year we have established ourselves as a leader within the recruitment industry and are doing particularly well winning international contracts, especially in the Middle East. “The rapid expansion of our portfolio resulted in us opening a second office in Bishop Auckland, and we’re now in the process of moving our Peterlee team to bigger space which will enable us to continue to grow. “It’s an exciting time for the business and as a result of our growth overseas, we’re also looking at the possibility of opening offices in Dubai and Erbil in Iraq later this year. “With all the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, we decided to focus on building relationships in the Middle East and strengthen our footprint here. The margins are significantly higher in the Middle East than here in the UK and we’ve been lucky that through existing relationships we’ve formed with our current clients, they have in turn recommended us to other companies.” Novus Business Centre in Peterlee is home to around 20 businesses of varying sizes and offers flexible office space to companies ranging from sole traders to growing SMEs. Operations Director Denise Fielding said: “The beauty of Novus is that our space is flexible and means our tenants can easily up and downsize depending on their requirements. “Both SSK Recruitment and QuickRebates are undergoing periods of significant growth and are in the process of moving into bigger space, which is great to see. We wish them the best of luck as they continue on the next phase of their business journey.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Leanne English .