London firm set to create over 20 North East jobs with HQ relocation

A London-based firm is set to create a raft of new jobs with its move to new premises in the North East.

The Federation of Independent Retailers (NFRN) has relocated its headquarters from the capital to a new base in Bede House at Belmont Business Park in Durham.

The firm, which represents over 15,000 stores, is expected to create over 20 new jobs with the relocation of its headquarters.

NFRN national president, Stuart Reddish, commented: “Having entered our 101 st year, we are an organisation steeped in history and throughout that time, and still today, we pride ourselves on our ability to help the independent retailer compete more effectively in today’s highly competitive market.

“The location at Belmont Business Park, with direct access to the A1 and the main line train station, combined with the high quality office space at Bede House, made a compelling case for us to relocate to Durham.

“When one also considers the North East offers a very stable, high quality workforce, then we have every reason to believe the move of our head office to Durham will ensure the Federation continues to thrive to the benefit of our members for the next century.”

Bede House recently underwent a £750k renovation led by owner Durham Group Estates, and has welcomed the firm on a 10-year lease.

Durham Group Estates’ chief executive, Gurpreet Singh Jagpal, added: “Coming from a background of working within my parent’s newsagents when I was growing up, to see the NFRN relocate its headquarters to Durham is a very proud moment for me.

“Not only have we succeeded in attracting a national organisation to relocate its headquarters from London to Durham but the NFRN wants to invest in the region and is looking to create over 20 jobs in a variety of roles from finance, customer service, client management, communications and administration.

“The NFRN looked at a number of locations to base its headquarters and we worked closely with it to ensure it chose Durham ahead of some of the other major cities in the UK.”

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