Northumberland construction company Merit sealed one of its biggest ever contracts after being enlisted to build part of a new £150m facility for Covid jab manufacturer Moderna.
Following a string of significant healthcare projects around the UK, Cramlington-based Merit is set to build one of the two buildings that will make up the new Moderna Innovation and Technology Centre (MITC) at Harwell Campus in Oxfordshire, after the US business confirmed plans moves into the UK.
The project leaders say the project will create hundreds of jobs, through its construction and operation. The MITC will include a clinical biomarker laboratory that will be constructed by offsite construction and engineering specialist Merit - and the firm's innovative process means it will be operational in just two years' time. The Drug Substance and Manufacturing facility will be fitted out by Birmingham based engineering firm IPS.
North East hospitality company The Inn Collection Group has snapped up its second venue in a popular seaside town.
The Newcastle-based pubs-with- rooms business now has 36 sites across the North of England and North Wales after acquiring the Links Hotel in Seahouses, Northumberland, in a deal overseen by property specialist Christie & Co. The Inn Collection Group – which already owns and operates the Bamburgh Castle Inn overlooking Seahouses harbour – is taking over the Links Hotel from Julie Dawson and Malcolm Sutton, who have owned the business for 22 years and decided to sell up to pursue other business interests.
Based on the main road into Seahouses, the hotel has a bar, restaurant and 10 en suite bedrooms, a car park and decked terrace. Sean Donkin, managing director of the Inn Collection Group, said: “We are very happy to have acquired The Links in Seahouses and to have worked with Christie & Co again after doing so on last year’s purchase of the St Kilda Hotel in Llandudno.
“Whilst the focus of The Inn Collection Group is on consolidation and completing the refurbishments that are currently under way or about to begin, we remain active in the market, should the right opportunities become available. The Links Hotel very much counts as one of those. Christie & Co has been first rate during the process and working together with them and Bradley Hall as advisors, has once again delivered a positive result for The Inn Collection Group.”
Airline operator Jet2 is investing in its North East operations, leading to the creation of 60 new jobs at Newcastle International Airport. Jet2.com and Jet2holidays is preparing for its biggest ever summer operation at the airport, where it now has eight aircraft based on site with plans to increase to nine during the peak summer season. The airline and tour operator aims to improve the customer experience by bringing it ramp-handling operations, which includes baggage handling, in-house.
The company says around 60 roles are available as a result of the in-house investment, taking its total Tyneside workforce to 700 workers. Jet2 is introducing a ramp-handling team including ramp agents and baggage loaders, who will working as part of the ground operations team to ensure flights depart safely and on time.
As a result of the investment, Jet2.com and Jet2holidays has brought operations in-house at Bristol, Birmingham, East Midlands, Leeds Bradford, Manchester and London Stansted Airports, as well as Newcastle. The leisure airline has 36 sun and city destinations for travellers this summer – including the addition of Verona, to open up the Lake Garda region – with more than 1.2m seats on sale, operating up to 125 weekly flights during peak periods from the base.
Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays said: “The reason we are a multiple award-winning airline and tour operator is because provide an industry-leading experience for our customers and continually look for ways to improve that even further."
A data platform provider is to set up in Newcastle after receiving a £1m funding package from a North East jobs fund.
The North East Development Capital Fund (NEDCF), supported by the European Regional Development Fund and managed by Maven Capital Partners, has backed data platform provider DiffusionData to enable the business to continue with new product development and quality focus.
DifusionData - which is described as a “market-leading platform providing real-time, data streaming and messaging solutions that reduce network bandwidth requirements” - is moving to the Helix development in Newcastle city centre to open an engineering and testing hub that will create 10 jobs. The company’s Diffusion Intelligent Data Platform consumes raw data and aims to simplify and speed developments for companies, reducing operational costs and delivering hyper-personalized data to users.
Grethe Brown, CEO at DiffusionData, said: “This investment from NEDCF and expansion into the North East region comes at a very exciting time for DiffusionData. Our key customers are expanding their use of the DiffusionData platform, new customers are rapidly coming on board, and we are getting noticed.
“This added confidence in DiffusionData will assist us in establishing an extended quality and performance team based in the North East; another significant step in supporting our footprint growth.”
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