North East regeneration specialist RE:GEN Group has opened new headquarters after appointing 33 staff from collapsed construction company Tolent.
The company, which supports social housing clients by retrofitting and modernising their homes, has purchased its new base at Sunderland’s Doxford Park which has 8,942 sqft of modern office space over two floors. The office move places the business closer to key clients – and also accommodates the appointment of 33 new staff who were made redundant from Tolent last week, following the appointment of administrators.
When news of the Gateshead firm’s failure broke, bosses at RE:GEN Group said they quickly reacted to create the new roles and ensure those who were made redundant could secure employment. Nine new roles have been recruited into RE:GEN Group while 24 roles have been safeguarded with the creation of RE:GEN Solutions, a new solution-based subsidiary delivering an asbestos abatement and management service to the firms social housing clients.
Read more: Brims Construction to save around 150 jobs at collapsed firm's Teesside operations
RE:GEN Solutions will sit within the group’s structure alongside RE:Geon Training, which provides opportunities for people looking for construction industry careers.
Lee Francis, CEO of RE:GEN Group, said: “We are delighted to relocate our business operations to Sunderland and be part of the Sunderland community. We outgrew our previous offices and have seen our headcount increase to over 150 in the space of two years, so we needed to find offices that were not only large enough but in a great location and closer to our clients.
“Following the announcement of Tolent last week, we wanted to reach out to those affected and see how we could help. I’m delighted we have been able to create these new roles within the business. It’s been a busy couple of weeks with the office move, recruitment of new staff and the launch of a new business, but our proudest achievement in all this has been our ability to act fast and save over 30 jobs for some of the best talent our region has to offer. We will continue to support as many customers, employees and supply chain as we possibly can.”
Former Tolent employee Anthony Wade has been appointed as managing director of RE:GEN Solutions. He said: “It’s been a whirlwind week but we are over the moon with what we have achieved. Just last week the team were so distraught not knowing where the next mortgage payment would come from but now, they are faced with more hope than they ever imagined thanks to the RE:GEN Group. I’m really looking forward to establishing and growing RE:GEN Solutions not only within the social housing sector but all other types of industrial work.”
RE:GEN's move to take on former Tolent staff comes after Brims Construction in Sunderland acquired the Teesside operation of Tolent, saving around 150 jobs.
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