North East property investment company, Durham Group Estates, has secured a prestigious national tenant for Bede House, Belmont Business Park, Durham, which recently undertook a £750,000 refurbishment.
The Federation of Independent Retailers (NFRN) represents more than 15,000 stores and is expected to create over 20 jobs, following the relocation of its national headquarters from London.
Durham Group Estates, which operates across the North East and Yorkshire, completed the first phase of the 26,000 sq ft two-storey office building refurbishment in September 2019, with national accountancy firm, Baldwins, occupying the 13,000 sq ft first floor, as part of a major investment in the region.
The announcement the NFRN is taking the remaining available space on a ten year lease, means Bede House now has full occupancy.
Durham Group Estates’ chief executive, Gurpreet Singh Jagpal, said: “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. Its arrival shortly after Baldwins signed a ten year lease to house 80 of its business advisory experts is a clear signal that Bede House, Belmont Business Park and Durham city are all attractive locations for high quality businesses from outside the region.
“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.”
NFRN national president, Stuart Reddish, said: “Having entered our 101st 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.”
Durham Group Estates were advised by Naylors Gavin Black and DWF LLP.