North East TV presenter Steph McGovern has teamed up with a neuroscientist to launch a new health and wellbeing business - after the doctor appeared on her show and helped transform her life.
The Steph’s Packed Lunch host and Dr Jones - also known as Dr Rock - have teamed up to improve the nation’s wellbeing following Middlesbrough-born Ms McGovern’s successful health revolution, which resulted from the doctor’s ‘smart wellness’ longevity plan.
Ms McGovern, who now lives in North Tyneside, has invested in the doctor’s Kent-based start-up company, Neuron Wellness, a year after she appeared on the lunchtime show. She was so impressed by her simple tips and wellness courses that she took part in them herself and managed to control her debilitating IBS symptoms and drop two dress sizes.
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Their first smart wellness hub opened this week in Folkestone, Kent, which features the UK’s first live bacteria bar, serving kombucha and kefir drinks. The new company also offers a ‘30 Diversity’ home delivery food box subscription service, a ‘Smart Gut’ health analysis and online wellness tips and webinars. The pair also hope to roll out their wellness business around the UK.
Ms McGovern said: “I feel so much better and people keep asking me how I have transformed my health. That’s why I wanted to work with Julia and be part of the business. Hopefully we can help many others change too and reap the benefits - as we both have.”
White Digital, a website development and digital marketing agency based in Darlington, is set to open an additional office after snapping up Design365, which has bases in Gateshead and Newton Aycliffe.
The move will safeguard the future of Design365 and its four members of staff, following the retirement of director Alan Foster and his business partner and wife Anne Foster. The firm is now looking to open a new office in another area of the region to house the growing team.
The two companies will merge under the White Digital brand, taking the total number of staff up to 22. Mr Foster will remain involved in the short term to help with the transition.
Douglas Dinwiddie, managing director of White Digital, said: “I was introduced to Alan by a mutual business associate, and, after the initial introduction, we met up and a discussion was held around the future of Design365. This is the latest in a line of acquisitions that we have made over the last few years, and it has added an array of different skills to our developer department, as well as abilities in software like Magento, so we can now offer more options, especially on the e-commerce side."
A Sunderland travel insurer has expanded with the acquisition of a complementary business.
Just Travel Cover said it has marked the recovery of the travel industry by purchasing the travel insurance and scheme specialist business Alpha Underwriting from CPP Secure Limited. The leisure broker, which specialises in cover for those with pre-existing medical conditions and with no age limit, said it has seen sustained growth in the last year after international travel restrictions were relaxed. The restrictions had impacted business by up to 90%, with the broker reporting a 51% growth in policies sold this calendar year, against pre-Covid levels.
The growth has led to the recruitment of several new staff. Just Travel Cover deals with the public though its website and call centre in Sunderland, and via a UK-wide network of insurance brokers, will provide its new partners with access to its suite of insurance products.
A major housing development in Durham has moved forward after developer Banks Property struck land deals with two housebuilders.
The County Durham company, part of the family run Banks Group, secured outline planning permission from Durham County Council for the Bent House Lane development last year and has since been working towards seeking out the most appropriate housebuilders to take the project forward. The firm has now agreed deals with both Miller Homes and Barratt Homes, which will each develop around half of the 19.5-hectare site.
The Bent House Lane site, which was allocated for residential development in the County Durham Plan, will see the creation of up to 500 family homes on land to the south of the A181 Sherburn Road between Gilesgate and the A1. Alongside the new homes, the Bent House Lane scheme will include around 3.5 hectares of public open space and a new network of footpaths and cycleways to link with nearby facilities, and the National Cycle Route 14 to Durham City.
A Newcastle cybersecurity business is set to develop its platform on the back of a £350,000 investment.
Melius Cyber has created automated software that helps SMEs detect vulnerabilities in their IT system, monitoring its network around the clock to test its security and protect it from the latest threats. CyberSafe automates the process of vulnerability scanning and penetration testing, in which cyber experts simulate attacks to detect weaknesses in the system.
The Kingston Park based business is set to grow after raising £350,000 from the North East Venture Fund (NEVF), supported by the European Regional Development Fund and managed by Mercia. The company’s platform was developed specifically for SMEs and aligns to Cyber Essentials, the government-backed accreditation scheme that shows businesses take cybersecurity seriously. It helps businesses to gain accreditation by showing they have monitoring in place and can meet the criteria.
The funding will enable Melius Cyber to boost its sales and marketing to expand its client base and to further develop the platform, including adapting it to meet the needs of financial services and other FCA-regulated firms.
North East Nurseries Limited has been sold to Kids Planet Day Nurseries for a significant sum.
The acquisition sees the Newcastle company’s five sites – Ashbrooke Day Nursery in Sunderland, Kenton Park Nursery in Gosforth, Southfield Day Nursery in Cramlington, Wallsend Day Nursery and Westerhope Village Nursery – join the Kids Planet family. The deal completed exactly eight years to the day that North East Nurseries former owner Ajeet Chadda and his wife Kanchan acquired their first two nurseries in Westerhope and Gosforth, both in Newcastle, on July 7 2014.
Since then, the couple have steadily grown their business into a successful group of children’s nurseries, known as Choice Childcare Limited in five different locations across the region. Mrs Chadda said: “Running and growing Choice Childcare has been a huge part of our lives and it was never going to be an easy decision to hand over the reins. However, from meeting the Kids Planet team, we knew they were the right people to take the business forward. We wish them every success in building their North East presence.”
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