The move represents a significant milestone for the fast-growing software company and to celebrate it is hosting a free networking social event.

The event will take place on the afternoon of Wednesday 29^th January 2020 at The Work Place, Aycliffe Business Park, DL5 6AH.  It will offer local businesses the opportunity to network with other businesses from across the North East, enjoy a late light lunch and drinks together, and allow anyone who hasn’t visited The Work Place to experience its excellent facilities.

The event will take place between 2:00 and 5:00 pm.

In is a great opportunity for businesses to get together, enjoy some downtime in a social and relaxing environment, and gain insight from others operating in the North East.

If you would like to attend the networking event and join Excelpoint in celebrating its new office move, simply register at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mid-week-meet-up-office-move-and-networking-with-excelpoint-tickets-89951227543.

Ian Brown, Managing Director of Excelpoint, commented: “This move represents a significant milestone for Excelpoint.  The new office space better accommodates our growing team and will enable us to hire additional talent to continue to provide industry-leading software, support and service to our customers world-wide.”

Excelpoint builds agile customer-specific business applications ten-times faster to achieve process efficiencies and realise cost savings.

Its vision is to transform business systems into configurable, integrated and scalable solutions that solve business problems and provide a real return on investment.

It offers a range of easy-to-use applications covering all key business processes and supports its customers with continuous innovation and service.

The software is currently utilised across numerous sectors including engineering, manufacturing, oil and gas, the NHS, local and central government, construction, utilities, nuclear, energy, mining and the service sector, and is used by organisations of all sizes.

For more information about Excelpoint, please visit www.excelpoint.co.uk, follow Excelpoint on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, telephone 01325 375930 or email sales@excelpoint.co.uk.

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After scoring higher than any other bidder, the Newcastle based law firm for businesses will now provide all NCG’s day to day legal services and will also be able to bid for ‘special projects’ when they become available.

Muckle was appointed on the NCG framework to advise on a range of matters including governance and student affairs (including FOI and Data Protection), as well as property, estates, construction, employment and pensions.

NCG is a group of seven colleges (including Newcastle College) that delivers a broad range of industry-leading training programmes including apprenticeships, further and higher education courses. Muckle has previously advised the group on a number of high profile college mergers, including Carlisle College in 2017.

Mike Wilmot, from NCG, said: “We’re delighted to announce that Muckle will be our main day to day legal services provider. The panel were impressed by the quality of provision Muckle offered and we are looking forward to continuing to build our relationship with them.”

Alex Craig, partner and head of Commercial at Muckle, added: “NCG is one of the UK’s leading training and education providers and we are proud to develop our relationship.

“To be named as the group’s main legal provider is absolutely fantastic for us as a business.

“It is testament to the hard work and expertise of our education team, led by partner Tony McPhillips, who have done a tremendous job of establishing this practice area as a high performing and hugely successful part of our firm.”

Muckle LLP’s education team regularly acts for schools, colleges and universities on all aspects of commercial law and is ranked top in the North for education legal services by Legal 500 UK.

In addition to its track record in further education, the team has also completed over 100 academy conversions. Muckle also holds a place on three panels on the national Higher Education Procurement Consortia for universities across England and Wales, including the ‘one stop shop’ legal services panel, and has acted on several major university projects, including advising Newcastle University on its landmark Helix development.

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Steadfast Security Solutions provide a vast array of security provision including security guards, security systems, electrical contracting, storage and haulage. They are a growing company with big ambitions and big clients including manufacturing giants Caterpillar and the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS). They have recently invested over £200,000 in a new state-of-the-art central control room at their Peterlee HQ demonstrating their growth ambitions and commitment to providing jobs and security services in County Durham for many years to come.

The Peterlee based company was set up by ex-serviceman and managing director Michael Harbord twenty-five years ago, with a deep-rooted military ethos they actively recruit ex-military personnel, helping them find employment by utilising transferable skills within the business. Ex-servicemen like Business Development Manager Mike McGaun, who joined the company twenty-one months ago.

When Mike joined the business, as a highly trained Close Protection Officer and military veteran of 31 years he knew a lot about security but not a lot about how to sell those services.

Mike met DBOP business engagement officer Guy Bashford at a two-hour procurement workshop, part of the Seaham and Peterlee Business Network, organised by Business Durham who delivers the Durham Business Opportunities Programme.  Guy supports the Peterlee and Seaham Networking Groups and events as part of his day to day role, developing the network building on the solid foundations established by Business Durham colleague Joanne Urquhart-Arnold.

As a result of meeting Guy at the Peterlee and Seaham event and subsequent one-on-one support, he attended additional bid writing workshops through the NEPO programme amongst others, equipping him with the skills he needed for writing effective tenders and effectively winning new business.

Business development manager Guy Bashford said: “As part of our ERDF funding one of the market failures identified as a barrier to business growth for County Durham was the low uptake and awareness of the business support available. DBOP is here to facilitate access to and raise awareness of the support for companies like Steadfast Security. The seed Mike and I planted at our first meeting became the catalyst for him to seek additional training to help Steadfast win new business.

As a result of those workshops, Mike wrote several successful tenders to secure four new contracts over 3 years with Durham County Council in excess of 2 million pounds.

Guy added, “It’s not always about 12 hours intervention it’s about planting that seed and letting people know what help is available to them.”

Mike added: “I’d wrote a few tenders for new contracts and came nowhere. After attending the bid writing workshops, I came fourth, I worked harder on the next one and now I haven’t been out of the top three when I’ve submitted a tender in the last 12 months.

“The workshops have been an invaluable resource that helped me understand the requirements of successful bid writing. The training helped to get the foundations right, to pay attention to detail, do the small things and I discovered that when I followed the advice, success quickly followed.”

In addition to the new contract wins Steadfast Security have bought Complete Security Europe Limited, a sub-company of Community Ventures Limited, a large charity based in Middlesbrough.

Mike continues to attend the Seaham and Peterlee networking events, helping to bring the East Durham business community together facilitating collaboration and helping businesses make new connections.

Mike concluded: “It’s not just the about workshops, it’s about attending the right events and speaking to the right people to understand the wider business support landscape and learning about the help available to support growth. The DBOP team do this so well, they are an impartial sounding board so always have the best interests of your business at the core of what they do.”

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This isn’t necessarily about using technology in your processes or even manufacturing the next high tech consumer product, innovation is much simpler than this.

These sessions will be looking at how through perhaps even the simplest of changes to your business you can reap huge rewards, building on the success of last years EMN innovation events and the case studies which highlighted how great and forward thinking our region is.

The first session is kindly being hosted by our partners at Sunderland University (AMAP), in their Industry Centre on Colima Avenue, Sunderland ( 2mins from the A19).

As with all of our events this isn’t just about listening to experts who deliver innovation, but more importantly listening to those who have implemented changes to their business, the journey they took to achieve this and the benefits they have realised as a result.

The event will take place on Thursday, January 23, commencing at 08;30 and follow the agenda below;

8.30       Arrivals & Networking

9.00       EMN Introduction to Innovation

9:15       SAM project introduction

9:30       Case studies & Company presentations

10:30     Tour of facilities.

The tour will include a look at some of the regions most forward thinking manufacturing processes and highlight where the sector is headed in the future.

Please join us by dropping an email to kaye.collins@cdemn.org.uk

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Since it was introduced in 2018, the team has seen workload increase – this growth increased by 150% in 2019, highlighting the demand from clients and new customers for data-driven insight and strategy.

The specialist team gather, analyse and breakdown financial and operational data, so that businesses can make fully informed, quick, intelligent and measurable decisions, with a focus on what really drives value and profitability in their business.

Headed up by associate partner Graham Dotchin and assisted by data insights manager, Richard Tate and data insight executive, Callum McLaren, the team all have a mix of practice and industry experience which gives them a unique and strategic view on how to help clients improve their business, as well as an understanding of what it is like to be on their side of the table and the challenges they face.

The volume of data within any business and available market insight is huge and so it is essential that businesses are able to cut through the white noise and focus on what is really important to drive change or value. The team help businesses utilise the right data to support their strategy, business and market intelligence and financial modelling.

Graham said: “The service is proving to be a real benefit to clients. Quite often business owners know in their gut where their business is at – be it in a good or bad place – but they need that hard data to make it a reality for them. Using data allows them to see exactly what’s going on, make informed choices and engage their staff and stakeholders.”

Graham, added: “We typically spend most of our time assessing, cleaning and connecting financial, operational and sales databases into one central version of the truth. Too many businesses have contradictory information sources than can be confusing to the user and for business plans. Once the single version of the truth is established and maintained with live data we overlay analytics and visuals to bring this data to life. I love presenting information back to clients and seeing the lightbulb switch on.”

The team are currently working with a range of SMEs across different sectors, typically helping businesses assess their strategy, grow profit through customer, product and efficiency analysis, benchmark against competitors, assess working capital needs and providing detailed scenario based forecast modelling to see how changes to the business could impact performance.

The team also work alongside the Corporate Finance team in helping prepare businesses for sale, using data to defend and promote value during company disposals and fundraising projects. Data analytics provides innovative ways to undertake due diligence for investors and acquirers.

Established in 1937, MHA Tait Walker is the largest independent accountancy practice in the North East of England. The firm offers large corporates, owner-managed businesses and individuals a complete set of accountancy and advisory services from taxation to corporate finance.

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Neil will take up the role from 2nd January 2020 as Phill Adamson, Paragon’s Founding Director, moves into the role of CEO.

With full responsibility for the leadership and development of Paragon’s business, Neil will focus on using Paragon’s existing capabilities, technologies and services networks to develop new services and reach new markets and clients.

Included in the short to medium term planning is an ambitious expansion plan into European markets, with a view to establish a global reach within five years.

The plans will draw on Neil’s extensive track record of creating growth for niche businesses in the manufacturing and engineering sector, as Paragon Rapid Technologies looks to stabilise the share of its existing markets and grow in the face of Brexit uncertainty.

Neil brings with him more than two decades of experience in developing commercial strategy, client services and driving corporate growth. Having successfully built up various small companies, and sold his own manufacturing business in Germany,

Neil has spent the last few years helping commercial teams within the manufacturing and engineering sector, building relationships with the likes of Daimler AG (Mercedes Benz), Porsche, Robert Bosch, ABB, BMW and Siemens. He joined Paragon Rapid Technologies in August this year.

“In the four months since he joined Paragon, Neil has proven to be the commercially focussed, instinctive decision-maker and leader we need to take our business to its next phase of growth and diversification,” says Phill Adamson, Founding Director.

“He is an astute businessman and natural visionary who values collaboration and understands the power of relationships. His work ethos is very much one of getting things done while simultaneously inspiring staff, supporting teams and building high value client relationships.

Neil Cook said: “Paragon’s technological strength is far superior to its nearest competitors, and this, combined with the natural talent locked inside its loyal work force, provides the power to give existing and potential clients something really special. The investments that have been made over the years to enable the Paragon to stay ahead of the competition are now coming into play within its UK and European markets.

“I’m delighted and very excited to be offered the opportunity to build on these strengths and take Paragon to the next level in its journey to becoming the leading brand in the prototyping, 3D printing and CNC markets. We have the ability to create product development services that will transform our clients’ businesses, whether they are large automotive manufacturers, or medical device innovators, or small prop and model makers working within the entertainment industry.”

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Ten volunteers from across the Newcastle-based law firm have worked closely with the homelessness charity to help bring some extra Christmas cheer to their Gateshead and Sunderland Basis projects this December.

Oasis believes in prevention and intervention and works closely with people dealing with homelessness to address both the immediate needs and the root causes of being homeless. At their Gateshead and Sunderland bases, the charity offers people help with issues such as employability and housing and provides a safe space for one-to-one and peer group support.

Led by Oasis director of programmes (and acting head chef), Phil Conn, volunteers served up two cracking Christmas lunches for more than 50 service users.

Nic Leyden, Muckle HR director who volunteered at Sunderland, said: “Phil has been brilliant and ran a very organised kitchen, cooking everything from scratch. We’ve been busy chopping carrots, peeling potatoes and scouring the shops of Sunderland in search of some elusive sage for Phil’s incredible homemade stuffing!

“It’s been a fantastic day and a real pleasure and a privilege to volunteer, give a little something back and meet the fantastic team at Oasis Community Housing, who provide such valuable support to people dealing with homelessness.

“It was also great to meet and chat to some of the people the charity helps. It is clear they thoroughly enjoyed the event and they have been quick to tell us what an amazing job the Oasis team does day in, day out.”

Phil Conn, director of programmes for Oasis Community Housing, said: “It’s been great working with the Muckle volunteers. They have been brilliant and helped to make this a really enjoyable experience for everyone involved.

“It’s so important at Christmas to try and do something special for the people that depend on us throughout the year, who might be struggling with a number of issues. Our key message is hope, not homelessness, and these events exemplify that ethos by providing a vital a sense of community, friendship and belonging, as well as good food.

“It is fantastic to have businesses that really make an effort to understand their community and get involved to make it as strong as possible. Muckle are setting a great example.”

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Future Business Magnates, now running for its 15th year, will see school teams of year 8 pupils working closely with local businesses to develop, create and present business ideas.

With many countries and local authorities, including Durham County Council, declaring a Climate Emergency and committing to reducing emissions, this year students are being asked to come up with a business idea that will help to save the planet or will tackle one of the problems caused by climate change.

At the launch students heard from the Environment Agency (EA), who are a partner in this year’s competition.  EA representatives gave an interesting introduction to the concept of the circular economy, to get the teams’ creativity flowing.

The students representing schools from across County Durham will undergo six individual challenges over the coming months, supported by dedicated business partners from successful Durham based organisations like Zumtobel Group, Honcho Markets, Wates Construction and Waterstons.

The programme will culminate in an awards ceremony in June 2020 hosted by BBC Radio Newcastle presenter Charlie Charlton.

This year’s competition was launched in November by Councillor Ossie Johnson, Vice Chairman of Durham County Council, and Business Durham at the Xcel Centre in Newton Aycliffe. Business Durham is the economic development arm of Durham County Council and runs the Future Business Magnates programme.   

Sarah Slaven, Operations Director at Business Durham, said: “This exciting competition aims to inspire young people and help develop the skills needed to start and develop a business.  

“Year after year it’s great to see so many positive outcomes for the students, the schools and the business partners. Students are introduced to possible career pathways and develop key communications skills, and businesses are given the opportunity to inspire young people whilst learning more about the world of education.”

Cllr Carl Marshall, Cabinet member for economic regeneration at Durham County Council, said: “In February, we declared a climate emergency and set the ambitious target of making all of County Durham carbon neutral by 2050.

“Developing clean industries and promoting a green economy are key to achieving this target and I am really looking forward to seeing what innovative business ideas the students come up with to tackle climate change. We all have a responsibility to protect our planet, and the Future Business Magnates Challenge aims to draw upon the passion so many young people across the world have already demonstrated towards this vital cause.”

Sarah Darling, Customer and Engagement Advisor for the Environment Agency, said: “It has been fantastic to contribute towards this year’s Future Business Magnates challenge, especially as the theme is ‘building a business to protect the planet’, with the opportunity to introduce information about the circular economy concept.

“We hope that we’ve encouraged the teams to look at ways to better use our planet’s vital resources by putting reduction, reuse and recycling of resources at the heart of their business concepts. This change in thinking, not only helps us to better protect our environment but it supports local growth to our economy for future generations.”

Chris Hind, head of business studies at St Leonard’s Catholic School. said: “It’s a great competition, I love it.  We see the confidence of the pupils develop over the course of the programme.  They gain many skills including communications, team work and presentation skills as well as all round business knowledge.  Importantly they also enjoy the programme and it keeps them interested over the year.”

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Tell us more about AdaptDev.

Adaptdev was launched in 2016 and is based in Bishop Auckland, however we work with companies and organisations nationally and internationally.

I set the business up on the back of working for a large technology consultancy, having gained significant experience as a trainer and securing my licence as a professional scrum trainer for scrum.org.

I felt that after six years of helping the government deliver its digital transformation, I wanted to take the training to a wider audience.

Initially, I ran the business part time but after a couple of years I was offered the chance to deliver a full-time contract on behalf of a client so in 2018 Adaptdev became fully independent.

In November 2018 we were offered another opportunity to partner with one of the biggest training providers in the UK, and that was the catalyst for the next stage of the company’s growth, enabling us to focus on training over delivery.

What about the sectors you work in. Tell us more about them.

We have worked in the public sector, for financial services companies and utilities firms, as well as large and small businesses who come to us for our support and expertise. A common trend we’re finding among employers in the business community is that large enterprises are trying to adapt their processes to be more nimble and remove the layers of bureaucracy which have previously existed, while SMEs that we are engaging with are becoming less agile because they’re adding in processes and delivering in a waterfall format where the value isn’t delivered until the full term of the project.

What we try and do is help them to understand incremental delivery, small batches and lean principles which promote design thinking and early delivery of value to the customer.

You recently attended the manufacturing and engineering expo, EMCON 2019. How was that for you?

The business has so far had a very national and international focus, and I was especially keen to meet businesses in the North East area, companies a bit closer to home that could potentially benefit from our training and consultancy services.

I found the event a great way of raising our profile and I came away with some good contacts which could lead to work further down the line.

Some of the conversations we had have given us food for thought in terms of our overall offering and we may look to add in new, more innovative delivery methods as the business continues to grow.

What are your plans for 2020?

We are looking to introduce learning techniques which accommodate more distributed ways of working. This will save companies and organisations money on having to bring their staff together under one roof for training events.

We are also trialling virtual learning environments that we hope to release late in quarter one or early in quarter two, which will enable us to support organisations in a more flexible way.

For more information visit www.adaptdev.ltd or call Alasdair on 07885 504359 or email, alasdair@adaptdev.co.uk.

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NOVELTEA, which manufactures and sells alcoholic tea blends, has recently toasted success after securing an investment with Lioness Dagmar Wöhrl on Die Höhle der Löwen, which translates as ‘The Cave of Lions’. The trio shook hands on the deal on TV, although the transaction was far from complete.

Over the following two months trusted advisers at Muckle LLP worked to cement the deal, NOVELTEA’s largest investment to date, having acted for the business since its early stages, previously helping to deliver two rounds of crowdfunding and an innovative Chinese distribution deal.

The company was launched in 2016 by German former Newcastle University students Lukas Passia and Vincent Efferoth – dubbed the ‘Geordie Germans’ – who are the first to cold-brew and infuse tea with a matching spirit.

This latest deal saw Mrs Wöhrl – a leading politician and businesswoman – agree a €450,000 investment for 15% of the business, and it is already opening doors to new opportunities and sales in Germany.

NOVELTEA, which could have easily instructed German lawyers, asked Muckle to again act on its behalf to negotiate and complete all the documentation under English law.

Amy Wanless, senior associate in the corporate team at Muckle, said: “NOVELTEA has such an interesting story with a uniquely brilliant product. The company has followed a creative investment path and growth strategy which is now paying dividends, endorsed by the confidence shown in the business by its latest investor.

“It’s been fascinating to work with Lukas and Vincent from the very early stages as they have grown and developed NOVELTEA over the last three years.

“This is what we do at Muckle – helping entrepreneurs build businesses by taking an entrepreneurial approach to our legal advice, working closely with them to create, grow and realise value in their companies.

“NOVELTEA has taken all the right steps to develop the company, aided by its fantastic team of experienced and trusted advisers, including at board level.”

NOVELTEA co-founder Vincent Efferoth said: “Dagmar Wöhrl is extremely well placed to introduce us to key people and NOVELTEA is already available in 30 of her hotels. In terms of our markets, Germany is looking very good, China is going extremely well and it’s also going well in the UK, where we have plans to expand our team following this investment.

“Legal advice is critical for any growing business and it is so valuable when you find the right partner that understands your objectives and can work towards them with you from the start. We believe we have found this partner in Muckle and we are delighted with the advice we have had from Amy and the team over the last three years.”

Award-winning NOVELTEA is the world’s first brand to create cold-brewed tea and alcohol fusions. They are now selling the Tale of Earl Grey, distilled with gin, the Tale of Tangier, infused with rum, and the Tale of Oolong, infused with Scotch whisky.

Its range of drinks is stocked in over 150 stores across the UK and is also exported to China, Hong Kong and Germany. The ambitious company also plans to develop markets in France, Switzerland, Austria, Japan, Singapore, the US and Australia.

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