BUSINESSiQ North East

🎞️🎥A quick video message to wake you up! 🎞️🎥 DATE: April 11 VENUE: Wynyard Hall EVENT: 2025 BUSINESSiQ Awards Just click here to nominate your business champions - https://lnkd.in/ebSY9SYK

To those still working today and those who will be putting in the hours over Christmas and New Year - have a great break whenever you manage it, and here's to an amazing 2025 for the North East!

🎥🎞️It's Thursday morning movie time!🎞️🎥 We've just relaunched our jobs and investment campaign as Impact - and we certainly made one with our first live event in Darlington, where business leaders told us about their plans for 2025, and why it will be another pivotal year for the North East. Here's how it went, with Andrew Craddock of Darlington Building Society, Amanda Hopgood of Durham County Council, Simon Whitaker MBE of believe housing, Dominic Coles of Cummins Inc., Gary Sandberg at Razorblue Group, Rachel Anderson at North East Chamber of Commerce and Phil Forster of Teesside International Airport in the starring roles!

We are all about headlines here - but we always need to be able to dig deeper and give all the context so everyone has the full picture about the region everyone is talking about. Here are two longer reads over a mug or a glass - .an in-depth look at our first Impact event.... https://lnkd.in/eTT64UQW ...and local businesses discussing interest rates.... https://lnkd.in/e74q-UZD Andrew Craddock Darlington Building Society, Amanda Hopgood Durham County Council, Simon Whitaker MBE believe housing, Dominic Coles Cummins Inc., Gary Sandberg Razorblue Group, Rachel Anderson North East Chamber of Commerce Phil Forster Teesside International Airport Graham Robb Clive Owen LLP Nicola Bellerby Paul Gibson FPFS Active Chartered Financial Planners David Coates Kevin Brown Nick Pope John Cartwright Gavin Cordwell-Smith Heather Heward

It was a pleasure to attend the Impact networking event last Thursday with my manager Yasmin Docherty (née Hajim), held at the fantastic Hopetown in Darlington hosted by Mike Hughes and The Northern Echo. The event kicked off with a captivating history lesson on George Stephenson and his revolutionary invention of the steam train, highlighting its monumental impact on the world. The panel discussions were equally enlightening, as speakers shared not only their successes but also the challenges they faced in 2024. A common theme emerged: a sense of optimism for 2025 and a realisation that we often don't celebrate our achievements in the Northeast enough. Who knew that we have space technology being developed in Sedgefield, Cummins are leading the way designing hydrogen engines in Darlington and Believe Housing are creating non-gas estates to massively increase energy efficiency…. Additionally, Teesside airport secured a 5-year contract with FedEx and offers plane repair services, generating further income and providing more engineering jobs in the Northeast. I left the event with a renewed sense of pride and excitement for what lies ahead in 2025. The Northeast has a lot to be proud of, and it's time we start shouting about our successes. I am sure there are hundreds more success stories and exciting plans going on in the area and I would love to hear more!!! Simon Whitaker MBE Dominic Coles Gary Sandberg Rachel Anderson Phil Forster Amanda Hopgood Andrew Craddock

We’re live for our first BUSINESSiQ Impact event. As we review the successes of 2024 and look forward to next years plans, what better venue than Hopetown Darlington, ahead of the 200th anniversary of the Stockton & Darlington Railway in 2025. believe housing, bp, Durham County Council, Teesside International Airport, Darlington Building Society, Cummins Inc., Tees Valley Combined Authority, North East Chamber of Commerce, Razorblue Group #BUSINESSiQ #Impact

The BUSINESSiQ Awards are back for 2025! 🏆Last year proved what a huge appetite there is for an event celebrating the teamwork and support this region is so renowned for and the pure business success that it is generating. The headline sponsor for the event will be Amazon – one of the most successful businesses in the world and a major investor across the North East – and the venue will be none other than Wynyard Hall – one of the most prestigious locations in the region. The event will be held on Friday, April 11….and will be unlike any other awards event the North East has ever seen Our guests and sponsors will be able to enjoy the luxury and style of the whole ground floor at Wynyard with food and drinks served throughout - with canapes also available at stations around the Hall and drinks in the three bars and in the Statue Gallery as you arrive. Then feel free to wander, meet and talk in the Library, Mirror Room and Ballroom and enjoy the night’s entertainment before we all gather in the Conservatory for the awards to be handed out. Then there will be more exclusive networking and drinks across this remarkable venue late into the evening. If yours is a business that is excelling and growing – or you know of one that deserves to be part of one of the biggest business events of the year – nominate them for an award 🏆at https://lnkd.in/eXtBy3cR Joanne Ellerton Mike Hughes Gavin Foster Ryan Fenwick

Huge day for the region yesterday as the NZT Power station at Teesworks and the Northern Endurance Partnership infrastructure around it moved ahead, with start-up expected in 2028. THE STORY: https://lnkd.in/dKuCm_MZ THE REACTION: https://lnkd.in/dfJ5sXXY THE ANALYSIS: https://lnkd.in/dUURuSuR bp Equinor Total Energies Ian Hunter Louise Kingham CBE FEI Keir Starmer Ben Houchen North Sea Transition Authority Lola McEvoy Anna Turley Jonathan Brash MP Luke Myer Andy McDonald MP Chris McDonald

I recently sat down with Mike Hughes, editor of BUSINESSiQ North East, to discuss my journey since leaving Parliament and my new role with Agilia Infrastructure Partners – talking through some of the challenges in transition, but also the opportunities that have shaped this exciting chapter. Read the latest edition of BUSINESSiQ here: https://lnkd.in/eJmhz-Cv Losing the election gave me time to reflect and now, as part of Agilia’s incredible team, I’m proud to be working with them on projects that leave lasting legacies for communities and the country – some of which are mentioned here. Thank you to Mike Hughes, The Northern Echo, and BUSINESSiQ North East, for the work that they do in highlighting the great successes in Tees and the North East, and constantly campaigning for more. The recent success in securing a future for Hitachi at Newton Aycliffe shows how important regional journalism is. I’m grateful for the opportunity to share what's next for me and help to highlight the great work that Agilia is doing in the sector. The future is bright and we’re making a difference.

Last few seats are now available for our panel event at Hopetown in Darlington on Thursday. CLICK HERE to reserve your free ticket bit.ly/HopetownImpact. Then enjoy a talk from The Northern Echo's Chris Lloyd on the impact of the railways AND a panel discussion looking ahead to their plans for 2025 with Andrew Craddock of Darlington Building Society, Amanda Hopgood of Durham County Council, Simon Whitaker MBE of believe housing, Dominic Coles of Cummins Inc., Gary Sandberg at Razorblue Group, Rachel Anderson at North East Chamber of Commerce and Phil Forster of Teesside International Airport - AND lunch AND an exclusive tour of the astonishing Locomotive Works where they are building the UK's newest steam locomotive. Great way to spend a couple of hours on a Thursday!