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A new lab facility called Biosphere in the Newcastle Helix scheme is nearly completed. The 90,000 square foot premises, worth £25m, will contain both commercial laboratory space and office space, and will also have an 80-people conference area for meetings and events. The £350m Newcastle Helix development is being developed by Newcastle University, Newcastle City Council and Legal and General.

The bus operator Go North East, which is already the third largest private employer in the region, has 90 vacancies available after several successful contract bids.

Lyons Watson Accountants, a Darlington accountancy firm, has moved to larger premises as part of its preparation to take on more new staff. The move is to a larger office within the same business centre, Business Central. The firm was established in 2016.

Echo-U, a Quayside-based contact centre in Newcastle, has started a huge recruitment drive, creating 200 new full and part-time customer service roles in order to meet the expected Christmas demand.

Adderstone Group, a Newcastle-based property company, has gained approval for a “landmark” office development on Gateshead Quayside.

The NWH Group, an environmental and land services provider, has opened its first site in England. The business previously operated from 8 Scottish locations. A local operations manager has been set up in the Newcastle site, and 9 further jobs have been created.

Pizza Punks, a pizza restaurant and bar, will open open its first English branch in Newcastle, creating 30 jobs. The restaurant, which has outlets in Belfast and Glasgow, will operate from the former Café Rouge unit on Grey Street, following a £400,000 investment supported by NE1. Pizza toppings offered include: Newcastle Brown Ale pulled beef and a full English breakfast, as well as vegan, gluten-free and Halal products.

North East businesses are battling a huge surge in fraudulent activity, with more than £10m of alleged fraud cases being heard by the region’s courts.

Mediaworks, a major digital marketing specialist will relocate its almost 100 employees to a new office letting in Gateshead. The agency has been located at Team Valley since its inception in 2007, but due to ongoing expansion will now move to the second floor of the Honeycomb building at The Watermark. The 10,000 sq ft premise was leased to Mediaworks for ten years.

Synergi, a Gateshead business specialising in Microsoft cloud solutions, is on target to hit 2m turnover this year.

Flame Heating Group, a heating and plumbing merchant intends to more than double its workforce after achieving a multimillion-pound funding package. The £4m deal with HSBC UK will enable the company to launch several branches in the North East and enter new regions over the next three years.

Greggs, the largest bakery chain in the UK, believes it will hit its 5-year target of having 2,000 shops across the UK (They’re currently on 1888). This growth target comes thanks to its 100m investment programme.