North East deals of the week: key acquisitions, contracts and investments

British Airways owners IAG has announced an investment into a Norwegian company which is building a waste tyre recycling plant in the North East.

Wastefront AS – which was launched in Oslo six years ago by former Sunderland University student Christian A. Hvamstad – is creating a complete supply chain for used tyres, through the launch of a £1m plant at Port of Sunderland. Once at full capacity, the Wastefront facility will be ale to process around 80,000 tonnes of tyres per year, turning the used tyres into Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).

IAG says the deal marks another step forward in its commitment to sustainable fuels, while also enabling Wastefront to begin construction on its fully circular tyre-to-fuel facility at the port.

Jonathon Counsell, IAG’s group sustainability officer, said: “We’re proud to support innovators like Wastefront, who are finding new forms of feedstocks to produce advanced fuels. However, as global demand for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) grows, it’s crucial to expand production in the UK. The recent Government mandate will help reduce aviation’s overall carbon impact, but airlines need confidence that the planned revenue certainty mechanism will support UK businesses in developing SAF technology without further increasing the cost base for UK airlines.”

Property group Northern Trust Company Ltd has snapped up a Northumberland industrial estate in a multimillion-pound deal.

Northern Trust Company, an investment group focusing on property investment, development and strategic land promotion, currently has a portfolio of around 9m sqft of industrial space, trade counters and office parks, as well as more than 5,000 acres of land throughout the UK, supporting over 25,000 jobs. Now the business has bought the South Nelson Industrial Estate in Cramlington, which has 46,683 sqft of workspace across 33 units, set next to Northern Trust’s existing Nelson Park Industrial Estate.

The £5m acquisition takes Northern Trust’s total ownership in Cramlington to around 300,000 sqft in 100 industrial units occupied by a range of local and regional tenants, while also further strengthening its presence in the North East industrial market.

Barry Nelson, regional property director in the North East, added: “South Nelson Industrial Estate is a well-established industrial estate with excellent connectivity, making it an ideal addition to our portfolio. With the diversity in unit sizes, we can cater to a wide range of businesses looking for flexible space to meet their operational needs. We look forward to managing and developing relationships with the existing occupiers on the estate.”

A 200-year-old Northumberland pub famed for its ‘cursed’ window collection was acquired by a pub giant in a seven-figure deal.

The Dirty Bottles in Alnwick has been operating as a pub for more than 200 years, but just over 10 years ago it faced closure when developers had earmarked it to be turned into flats.

Local entrepreneur Mark Jones stepped in to save the building, believed to have been built in the 1600s, and transformed the pub with a number additions, including the acquisition and incorporation of the former Oscars bar at 34 Narrowgate, and the development of adjoining properties 28 and 30 Narrowgate.

Now property agents at Christie & Co have overseen a deal to sell the pub in the multimillion-pound investment deal to Greene King, one of the UK’s leading pub companies and brewers.

The pub used to be called Ye Old Cross Inn but took on its current name in honour of the “curse of the dirty bottles”, a 200-year-old legend which holds that the innkeeper dropped dead while interfering with the bottles in the window. His widow said that anyone who did the same would meet a similar end, so the “dirty bottles” were sealed between two windows and have remained untouched ever since.

Former owner Mark Jones said: “As an Alnwick lad, I am really proud to have transformed what was a derelict, unloved row of buildings into a sympathetically restored and bustling hospitality venue, taking turnover from zero to circa £3,000,000. As well as giving locals and tourists somewhere of real quality to drink, eat and stay, we have also created and sustained around 40 jobs for local people."

Sunderland business Maxim FM has been acquired by a global rival for an undisclosed sum as part of moves to strength its regional presence. Maxim Facilities Management Limited (Maxim FM) provides commercial contract cleaning and facilities management services to public and private sector clients, and already works with a growing number of blue chip corporate clients.

The firm was founded by managing director Graham Conway in late 2010 and has grown revenues from around £5m to £15m over the last 10 years after hoovering up investment to secure commercial and geographical growth, with its workforce growing to more than 1,100 employees.

Now OCS, an Ipswich based leader in facilities management with worldwide operations, has acquired Maxim FM to strengthen its service offering and expand its regional presence across key public and private sector markets. The deal marks OCS’ sixth strategic transaction in the UK over the last 18 months, and follows recent acquisitions of Scottish facilities management specialists FES FM and FES Support Services, which were announced in December last year.

Graham Conway, managing director of Maxim FM, said: “We are confident this partnership will benefit our colleagues and customers alike, and we are thrilled about the future prospects ahead.”

A popular countryside pub bordering County Durham and Northumberland has been snapped up by a growing hospitality group in an undisclosed deal.

The Derwent Arms is a traditional pub, restaurant and hotel in the village of Edmundbyers, set in the North East corner of the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The venue has a lounge bar and restaurant, as well as six ensuite letting rooms, a self-catered guest apartment, and a beer garden.

The pub was bought by Inn Hospitality Group back in 2021, triggering a major refurbishment project, creating a new restaurant serving seasonal and local produce which has proved popular among locals and tourists, also helping it to scoop a number of awards. Now the Derwent Arms has been acquired by Valiant Pub Company, a growing hospitality company launched four years ago by Hawthorn Leisure co-founders Gerry Carroll and Mark McGinty.

The Derwent Arms is their fourth pub acquisition through Christie & Co in the region, adding to its recent acquisitions The Keelman Arms, The Heart of Northumberland and The Railway. David Cash, regional director and Marslie McGregor, business agent at Christie & Co handled the sale.

A Newcastle business which has provided props and costumes for blockbuster TV show The Mandalorian and Disney projects around the world has secured a £100,000 investment. Ouseburn-based costume design and props company Orbital FX was officially established last year by husband-and-wife team Luke and Karen Daley, formalising a shared 10-year passion for creating high-quality replicas for costumed events around the globe.

Now Orbital FX has sealed the six-figure loan investment from Creative UK’s Culture and Creative Investment Programme (CCIP), which is delivered in partnership with the North East Combined Authority to provide investment and support for creative businesses and freelancers in the region.

The couple said the investment comes at a crucial growth point, as they plan to expand their equipment and technical team, while also building the company’s brand awareness.

Hartlepool’s ExMesh Engineering says it is set for significant expansion this year following a £500,000 investment.

The metal fabrication company said it will embark on a recruitment drive later this year, as it introduces a range of new services to meet the growing demands of its customers. As a division of The Expanded Metal Company, ExMesh Engineering said it will build on its over a century of heritage with a fresh focus on innovation and growth.

Ryan Pinder, operations manager and head of CI, said: "To support our bold new direction, we have made substantial investments in state-of-the-art machinery, which will enable us to deliver unparalleled precision, flexibility, and capacity in all metal fabrication.

"New services include a top-of-the-line laser cutter which can cut carbon steel, mild steel, stainless steel, and aluminium with extreme accuracy and efficiency, perfect for complex and large-scale projects. We are very proud to be investing and building on the skill and heritage that is grounded in Teesside.”

North East engineering company RWO has won a contract to support the development of the first of a new generation of data centres. The Newcastle firm is providing a package of civil, structural and geo environmental engineering services for the Latos Data Centres hyperscale data centre in Cardiff, a Tier III asset designed to meet the needs of the most demanding global technology companies.

The deal follows the Stockton-based IT services and consulting specialists’ announcement to deliver 40 new data centres across the UK by 2030 , with Cardiff set to be the first one when it goes fully this year.

Managing director Ross Oakley said: “Securing this work is another big step forward for us as we continue to grow our presence in the burgeoning data centre design and build sector. Our involvement through the planning and pre-construction phase, coupled with our in-depth knowledge of highly-specialist industrial and temperature-controlled facilities such as this, has enabled us to bring forward an effective programme of engineering to deliver the project.”

AM Recruitment Limited is planning on expanding its services in the North East, backed by a £2.5m finance facility. The firm has secured the Confidential Invoice Discounting (CID) facility from Cynergy Business Finance to enable it to boost its operational flexibility and "respond effectively to the needs of the engineering and construction sectors".

Based in Billingham, AM Recruitment is a temporary and permanent recruitment firm specialising in the engineering and construction sectors.

Ian Morrison, Director at AM Recruitment, said: “AM Recruitment is growing at pace, so it's important for us to partner with a bank that understands our business, and can work with us to maximise capacity and opportunities. Our relationship with Cynergy Business Finance has already allowed us to achieve our goals and focus on increasing our working capital capacity and growth potential, which will allow us to better serve clients and meet demands of a changing market.”

Dan Burton, director at Cynergy Business Finance, said: “It was obvious at the outset that AM Recruitment is a well-run firm, backed by a solid management team. We are already engaged in potential plans for the future and how best we can support AM Recruitment in their growth journey. We’re looking forward to what comes next for Ian and the team.”

Gateshead-based office technology company SOS Group has struck a deal to help Newcastle Eagles reach their sustainability goals. The firm is supplying Epson heat-free business inkjet technology to the Vertu Motors Aren, new technology which will reduce energy usage and costs for both the basketball club and the Eagles Community Foundation and is already being put to good use.

This season, to reduce its environmental impact and waste, the club moved away from its usual old plastic season tickets to a new digital ticketing app and an innovative recyclable paper solution for physical card.