A start-up that aims to smooth a disjointed private healthcare market is set for growth after winning the top prize among entrepreneurial graduates of Durham University.
Book Health, founded by Alex Keith and Olly Page, scooped the Blueprint Startup Challenge, the university's business ideas competition. Their marketplace concept - started about eight months ago - was borne out of Mr Keith's background in physiotherapy where he noticed friction between patients using private medical insurance to book services and clinicians.
The pair won £10,000 after delivering a pitch on their idea at this week's Celebration of Enterprise Dinner hosted by Durham University Careers & Enterprise Team, where other teams also vied for the prize. It was the culmination of the Atom Bank-sponsored initiative in which finalists are given mentoring to hone their pitching and introduce them to entrepreneurial Durham University alumni around the world.
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Book Health, which integrates with clinical booking software, is set to be integrated with a client soon and its founders will start fundraising within six months. Mr Keith, who has previously built businesses, said: "The prize money will help us as we're talking to potential clients and visiting trade shows. Hopefully it will allow us to do more of that."
Acquisitive wealth management group Fairstone sealed one of its most important deals to date - the acquisition of its new head office. The business said it hopes to grow staff numbers significantly at a new headquarters in Nike's former Sunderland offices.
The Doxford International Business Park site will host the growing group which operates back office and support functions to its UK-wide network of financial advice subsidiaries. Fit out work is under way on the 25,000 sqft, two storey building that will house workspaces, a "business lounge", a restaurant, private meeting pods, a media studio and an amphitheatre to host events.
Fairstone said it intends to move in by September and has spoken about plans to boost its North East team by around 120. CEO Lee Hartley said: "We are committed to maintaining the highest standards for clients and colleagues alike and as our business continues to expand, we have been seeking a location better suited to those requirements. In terms of capacity, we want to be able to accommodate at least another 120 head office staff and at the same time massively increase our meeting and collaboration spaces.
"We are extremely proud of our North East heritage and as such I’m committed to keeping our head office in the region. We have been looking for suitable new premises for quite some time and once it came on the market, Nike’s former HQ instantly struck us as a standout location.
"We are delighted to be making this investment into Sunderland – a city that has a clear appetite to support ambitious business that want to invest in growth. The area has attracted global companies such as L&G, Barclays, Nissan and EE and will soon house one of the largest filmmaking centres in Europe.
Newcastle tech firm Solution Performance Group took on 20 staff from liquidated software outfit Boxmodel Digital Media Limited. Helix-based Solution Performance Group (SPG) boosted its own team to 70 by taking on the employees from the nearby firm in a move it said bolstered its own growth efforts in the private and public sectors.
Boxmodel, which was founded in 2009, had counted major names such as Airbus Defence and Space, Renault and Rentokil among its customers. Earlier this month BusinessLive revealed the firm was being voluntarily liquidated owing more than £700,000, according to documents filed at Companies House.
Staff have now joined SPG colleagues at the group's offices within The Core on the Helix site. Gareth Humphreys, group CEO at SPG, said: "We’re really happy to be welcoming the former staff of Boxmodel to the group. They bring great talent and expertise to our growing team as we expand the range of services and products we deliver across the UK."
Alan Easton, former managing director of Boxmodel, said: "I am delighted to be joining the SPG team. They have a great customer base and ambitious plans to grow the business in the coming years, and I’m confident our former highly experienced team will prove a great asset and support future growth."
Newcastle-based transport giant Go-ahead Group won a £110m contract to operate buses in one of the UK’s busiest commuter areas. The 15-year contract for Kent’s Fastrack bus rapid transit system begins in November and will initially involve a new fleet of zero emission, electric buses used on the network, which runs in the Dartford, Bluewater, Ebbsfleet and Gravesham area.
Go-Ahead is in talks to deploy a fleet of 28 brand new Irizar ie Trams on the network, powered by inverted electric pantograph technology. Similar vehicles are already in operation on Go-Ahead London routes in south-east London. Kent Fastrack provides a frequent ‘turn up and go’ service, with a high proportion of its routes run on dedicated busways.
The contract will add 100 colleagues to The Go-Ahead Group, which has made it a priority to expand in the UK bus and passenger transport market under its Next Billion Journeys strategy. The company said it intends to use its award-winning transport apprenticeship scheme to recruit for Fastrack.
Go-ahead Group chief executive Christian Schreye said: “Kent’s Fastrack network is a fantastic blueprint for the future of bus travel, on dedicated busways away from traffic congestion. Go-Ahead will make this a zero-emission service and will deploy comfortable, modern, state-of-the-art ieTrams to enhance passengers’ journeys.”
Leisure operator Vaulkhard Group announced expansion plans on the back of a £4.5m funding package from HSBC UK.
The Newcastle-based firm - which owns a number of bars and pubs in the city including Barluga, Redhouse and The Beehive is looking to add to its portfolio with the funds. The family-run business used some of the finance to acquire the Town Wall and Bridge Tavern, both of which they took over in July 2021.
The 59 members of staff moved across to the Vaulkhard Group when the new owners took over the day-to-day running of the two sites, taking the group to 350 employees. Craig Bell, finance director said: "There was a slowing of investment into hospitality businesses throughout, and in the aftermath of, the pandemic. We saw this dip in the market as an opportunity to invest in premium sites and we will continue to search for similar opportunities in and around the North East as we look to further grow the business.
“It’s important for us to ensure that our great city retains its reputation as a successful leisure hub. But with the challenges of the pandemic, it was difficult to find a bank that aligned with our ideas and aspirations. HSBC UK was always on hand with clear and direct support that has enabled us to grow and we are thankful for that support.”
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